Yamaha 4 stroke owners beware !! around a 5000 mile fix !!

[1-snowbullet]

Hello out there was running my 07 apex last season and it started tinging in the tunnel area at a idel sounded like a beer can with ball bearings being shook . Also buddies 08 Vector same thing .. We both have around 5 thow miles on sleds .. I got currious and took the seat off gas tank and inspection pannels off of tunnel and found that the flex pipes have EXAUST Doughnuts that burn out .. Easy fix Kinda takes 1 to 1 1/2 hrs to get to There are 2 bolts going into tunnel that have button head allan heads on them You might want to figure out how to remove and replace with Stainless hex head bolts these bolts hold y pipe tight in place MUST LOOSEN To pull exaust Backwards to get donuts out THEY GET RUSTY and hard to remove .. same with the vector .. there are flex pipes off of y pipe and block of engine 10 mm bolts hold them to head remove then you should be able to get at doughnuts . your local yamaha dealer has new upgrade doughnut kits availible they come with doughnuts and bolts for clamps .. another 1 to 1 1/2 hrs back togeather and quiet as a mouse no rattles . will post some picks later in the week to display what you possibly would be getting into .. remember all 4 strokes are not the same but if you get a tinging--beer can ball bearing shake sound in the rear of your sled its most likly the exaust doughnuts . i hope this is helpfull to all .. honestly its a easy fix if ignored could be big bucks those flex pipes are not cheep ..

 

[trailshredder]

Yup...common problem with those sleds.

 

[vogelm1]

A guy on Totallyamaha Forum manufactures aftermarket copper exhaust donuts that should last forever, if you're interested. Many guys have installed them over there and seem very happy with them. Those OEM donuts are pretty fragile.

 

[1-snowbullet]

Interesting -- My experiance with copper and heat isnt very good it crumbles just as bad as a stock dougnut would .. I put a flame thrower on my vintage car added a cheeter system on it using copper line wouldent you know it --it melted --crumbled off at the exaust pipe .. needless to say i put steal break line in place of that copper line works great now .. Now a exaust system can get very hot thats why ((I would be scepitcal)) of that copper doughnut .. but i would be curious to see it after 5000 miles though ..

 

[whitedust]

1-snowbullet check TY do a search or look at sticky. Very detailed photos & info there with options on replacement donuts. Very common replacement part on Yams at 5K miles.

 

[thebreeze]

Yep. I think its "thistledoo" that makes the copper replacement donuts that are supposed to be best fix.

 

[mjkaliszak]

I'm thinking that they may be made out of ampco or mold max which is a copper looking substitute ( for lack of better words ) it is actually a alloy ( berillium cooper substitute ) with very good thermal properities. OR coated/ plated with copper and have a lead core ??? I don't know if you can plate with copper but just saying.
Just an idea.

 

[blkhwkbob]

All I know is that if you cannot get the two allen-head screws out, this job really bites. At that point, you have to drill out/off the heads of the screws, remove the rear suspension, disconnect the manifolds from the engine and remove them, go under the sled and push the Y-pipes towards the engine then down and out, then remove the rest of the drilled out screws from the piece they are threaded in to. Obviously, when re-assembling things, replace those ridiculous allen screws with hex head screws(which Yamaha should have used in the first place). I've done this job twice in the last two months, and it's a real p.i.t.a.

 

[vogelm1]

Yeah, mine were stuck real good, and I stripped the heads out. One last thing to try then is cutting a slot in the top of the bolt head (with a Dremel tool and cut-off wheel) so you can get on it with a straight screw driver. A few cycles of heat with a propane torch and penetrating oil, and they finally came out. Stainless steel hex head bolts went in with anti-seize - hopefully a problem no more.

 

[lenny]

both me and a buddy had the same thing and I just tightened them down but the noise was slight when I first noticed it so they were not burned out. Never needed to replace them. It gets bad by exhaust heat blowing by the donuts, that in turn burns them out over time. Do a yearly check and keep em tight and no problems.

 

[blkhwkbob]

Hey Lenny, one of the two I did was Brad's old sled! I went to the Drywall place with Tony to buy it and I've done some work on it. It now has an Apex seat, new copper donuts, heated shield plug, Pioneer rebuilt Viper rear shock with big boy spring, red hyfax and red snow flap. I also had to weld the exhaust pipes back together and clean the carbs twice now because of stuck needles but no big deal. It's sitting in my garage right now, as a matter of fact.

 

[SLED_DOCTOR]

1-snowbullet
As others have said this is a common problem. Be glad that you caught it before the Y-pipes cracked as then it gets a little pricey (speaking from experience). Also, while you have the seat and gas tank off you might as well re-rivet the tunnel protectors and coolant crossover pipe. If they haven't rattled free they will soon!

 

[lenny]

cool, did Tony finally get it all straightened with Brad? Since Brad bought the crossfire the rx1 has been used little so a good going through is a good thing.

Hey Lenny, one of the two I did was Brad's old sled! I went to the Drywall place with Tony to buy it and I've done some work on it. It now has an Apex seat, new copper donuts, heated shield plug, Pioneer rebuilt Viper rear shock with big boy spring, red hyfax and red snow flap. I also had to weld the exhaust pipes back together and clean the carbs twice now because of stuck needles but no big deal. It's sitting in my garage right now, as a matter of fact.

 

[blkhwkbob]

Tell Brad that UPS dropped off the package at the wrong company today. LOL. Tony called in trying to track the package just as the other company was calling in telling them they had something that wasn't theirs. If it doesn't show up tomorrow, we're pretty sure it's cursed.

 

[1-snowbullet]

Yup those bolts are a sweet removal i stripped mine out rused in there .. Ended up using a 9/16 socket and welding it on to the bolt with a wire feed one came out no problem the 2nd one well 6 sockets later finally came out .. as for shields and what not had to redo rear shield others were all good .. me and bud bought the replacement doughnuts its a upgrade kit with new allen bolts from yamaha .. next time they blow out will have to check into those copper ones and see how they have been holding up .. those bolts are hard to come by especially in stainless our hardware store dident carry them had to go to fastenall here in wausau wi. I will have some detailed pics hopfully by X-mass havent gotten over by buds yet to put his 08 vector back togeather ..

 

[whitedust]

Not positive but Yam may be selling copper donuts with Yam part number. Ask. Same thing with ohlite front bushings.

 

[Pizza Man]

I had my 08 Apex donuts replaced at the end of the season last year, 5902 miles.
Most of my riding buddies have Apex's and have done the same thing.

 

[sledneck]

My bolts were rusted in also and the heads got stripped so I just welded nuts to the top of them and then used a socket to remove them.

 

[G]

It helps to use a good quality hex drive to start with. Like a Snap On. The cheapies are almost guaranteed to round out the hex bolt. It is a stupid set up. The first time is the worst - after that a person kind of learns and the whole job goes a lot better. If you let these go you will destroy the Y pipes and they are expensive to replace. This is a good thing to do every preseason just as a precautionary measure. They tend to go out sooner if you ride hard and get a little tunnel flexing going on but even if you ride them nice they will go away at 4 -5 thou. Just part of owning a Yami 4. Not the end of the world but certainly a good question to ask if you are looking to buy a used Yami 4. When was the last time you did your donuts? A good way to check to see if they are out is to start the machine and let it idle. Have a good set of leather gloves or a nice stiff rag and plug the exhaust outlets. If the motor dies your donuts are good. If it still runs you are losing exhaust gases somewhere - most likely the donuts.

 

[1-snowbullet]

Yup a good hex drive socket Garenteed to eather take it off shear it off or strip it .. Ive got Matco tools - snap on- as well as other high end tools 2boxes full .. anyways i like that plugging off exaust to see if doughnuts are out .. never thought of that myself .. thanks for sharing that good idea .