Rear Exhaust Hanger Help

[Medic]

Going over the bike after my Cross Country trip....The Left Rear Exhaust Hanger bolts had worked their way loose I guess...the top one was actually all the way out with the bolt wedged in between the hanger and pipe...The lower one was loose. It appears that the holes were rounded out in the process...the lower one will tighten but not completely...the upper one will not tighten at all (just keeps spinning about 1/4" from all the way)..I checked the bolt threads by switching them out with the bolts on the other side (tightened fine)...therefore I assume the holes have rounded out....whats the fix for this?  My left exhuast is loose and actually hangs about 1' lower than the right due to the bolts not being tight, and the pipe moves average road bumps / dips.

Will I have to used a filler, then a tap / die set to re-do the holes / threads???!! Thanks for any help

[PAVALKER]

What flavor (model) do you have?    I have an I/S and my rear exhaust hanger bolts are actually "studs" that have an acorn nut on them.   If that is the same thing we are talking about....???    I check I/S, Tourer and Standard and the hangar "studs" appear to be the same on all three versions (only diff is tail end.....  piggies).

What part are you talking about here.....??  Hopefully not a header stud/bolt.....

[Medic]

Maybe Im using the wrong term...Hanger bracket maybe....bracket that attaches to the frame...studs on exhaust attached to bottom of bracket...then bracket attaches to frame with two bolts  at top...holes for the top of bracket to attach to frame are whats rounded out. (rear peg attaches to same bracket)

[R J]

Sounds like a weld a nut in its place and go from there.

If the nut in the frame is not too far gone, you might be able to drill and retap to the next size bigger.

When I put my Vikings on, I had to move, weld a new nut, and retap the hole to make it clean.    Then I used light sticky Lock-Tight to hold it...    Works good so far.

My bracket was about 7/8" too far back on the Vikings........  Justin said I didn't have the pipe on far enough.  Front holes matched, so I improvised.

[NiteRiderF6]

You could just drill them out and get some bolts with lock nuts and put on there to hold it up tight... RJ also had a good idea about tapping out the threads to the next larger size. It's time for some shade tree engineering on that bike.... Good Luck!

[Ricky-D]

A simple inspection of the bolts ought to reveal whether or not they are stripped. Installing a stripped bolt in a new hole will not necessarily indicate whatever you are looking for.

Generally speaking the bolts are softer that the nuts so they usually strip out first.  I don't understand what "rounding out" means in your case of usage.  Sounds to me you let the problem of looseness continue for way too long.

You need to inspect the manifold studs and nuts for tightness, the problem could have damaged things there also.

There is no way short of welding that a filler will suffice.

If the welded nuts are stripped you could use a longer bolt and a nut on the back to achieve tightness.

The last thing I would suggest is to drill out and re-thread anything.

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[CajunRider]

I've had people tell me that you should always weld up the hole, re-drill, and tap it. 

I'm a fan of drilling to a larger size, and re-tapping it.  (If possible... sometimes, the part you're trying to connect limits the bolt size.)

Either way, it'll only take a little bit of work.  A good welder can fix you up in 10 minutes... then drill/tap... or just drill/tap. 

[Medic]

Sounds like either JB Weld or actual welding and then re-tapping. The holes Im referring to in the frame are threaded. No nuts are used in the stock setup. Too large (17mm I think) chrome threaded bolts attach the rear peg plate / exhaust hanger to the frame.

[Ricky-D]

Sounds like either JB Weld or actual welding and then re-tapping. The holes Im referring to in the frame are threaded. No nuts are used in the stock setup. Too large (17mm I think) chrome threaded bolts attach the rear peg plate / exhaust hanger to the frame.

Forget about JB weld, that's futile, and welding will burn up your paint.  There are nuts behind that boss. They're welded to the backside of the boss.  All you need to do is look!

Drilling and threading should be the last option. You can only drill so much and then what?

Just get some longer bolts, a thickness of a nut longer. Such a simple thing.  Your reluctance is baffling.

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[Medic]

Not being reluctant...I did look..The holes in the frame that the bracket attaches to do not have bolts loose or welded), the OEM Chrome bolts dont even go through the frame enough to use a bolt, the holes are threaded and it looks like the wholes in the bracket / hanger are threaded as well. Not enough room on the backside to use different bolts w/ nuts due to the closeness to the swingarm. Maybe everyones thinking about different holes....I've circled the holes in question in the attached pic...Thanks again everyone for trying to help.

[Ricky-D]

Well, you're correct. They are not welded nuts, just some bosses welded to the piece. Threaded bosses.  However there is plenty of room for an additional nut behind there.   All that's necessary is get some longer bolts so there will be enough sticking out to thread on a nut. You may need to cut a little off the bolts and test fitting is always recommended. I see that the swingarm is a little closer on the left side than the right side but room is ample.

I'm not trying to start a pissin' contest here so this will be my last post on this subject. Good luck to you and the fix you decide.

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