Hi, I have an amateur question for anyone willing to lend their ear. I recently purchased a used 2001 cbr600f4i. The bike is awesome, but it has been suggested to me, by a mechanic, that there may be a leak of some kind from the in the exhaust system - specifically the exhaust headers. Perhaps something has gone wrong with the gaskets or there are some loose bolts.

So, I am inclined to install new gaskets and check the tightness of all the bolts with a torque wrench. I am not mechanically inclined but I have a haynes manual that details the process of removing the radiator and exhaust system. It sounds simple enough in print, but I wanted to ask a few questions of veterans before I got too far into this:

- is the process of accessing the exhaust heads a process that an amateur DIYer could handle? Are there any tips/tricks that I should know?

- Regarding the possibility of an exhaust leak, should I be looking for anything other than damage, a loose bolt, or a aged sealing rings?

Thanks!

 

its 8 nuts, prbly 10mm, and its rather easy to just make sure that they are all torqued properly before you go removing stuff.

you may as well go for a full exhaust system if your going to go this far lol

 

Yo! Take the plastics off get your head round the headers when they are running, u will probably find a hole as the gaskets are robust unlike standard pipes when soiled and weatherd (uk its grim). Just follow ur nose ul know when I can get to the bolts MAIN THING! Be careful removing bolts I have snapped a few in my time n its no joy! Turn them slow and firm if the feel they are going, stop and apply heat to the head. Pipes and gaskets are easy if u have the feel u don't need a torc! Tighten till gasket fully depleats then give it a quarter turn when it feels tight. Ow! Apply copper grease to the new stainless header bolts, to avoid the metals bonding enjoy

 

Before you remove the full exhaust headers, check the collector box under neath the bike for leaks there. I had two holes in my 2002 cbr 600 collector box and I repaired them with an exhaust paste. It lasted for a while, but I replaced the front pipes with a set of stainless ones and also got new studs and nuts. I was unlucky in that I broke a couple of studs whilst removing them. Fortunately, I purchased a stud extractor (worth their weight in gold!) and thankfully got the broken ones out! Hooray! If you decide to replace the front headers, get stainless and new studs, nuts and washers. Take your time and remove as many fairing parts as necessary to get good access. I am fortunate in having a bike lift, which I got from Machine Mart; another must-have. Makes life a lot easier and your back will thank you! Give the studs a good dose of WD 40 or similar and if necessary warm them with a blowlamp, being careful not to set your bike on fire! You could bet the bike hot by running it for a while first, but then the pipes will be mad hot. I used the blowlamp method and the studs came out ok, except for the broken ones! Put some copper grease on the new bolts and tighten until the new gaskets have compressed then as suggested another quarter to half a turn more. Recheck tightness after 100miles or so. Good luck!