There, I fixed it. Sort of. Close enough.

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
08/22/2017 at 22:13 • Filed to: You might be a redneck ...

Last night I discovered my scooter exhaust was cracked clean in half, making it much loaded and much slower. No bueno.

I decided to try a soda can patch. I don’t drink much Coke anymore, but I enjoyed a few cold pulls of it before I dumped the rest to liberate my raw materials. Here are some completely unnecessary in-progress shots.

All buttoned up.

The verdict: it’s better. It’s still louder and slower than it should be, but I think it will get me through the rest of the riding season. This winter my buddy offered to attempt to weld it back together. If that doesn’t work, I’ll replace it before next season.

DISCUSSION (37)

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:20

Good luck with that. I had a friend in college who tried to patch his car exhaust with a tin can and it burned through in short order.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:24

I repaired an F-150's exhaust with a soup can and a pair of hose clamps. Worked great for months...my dad replaced the exhaust because he wanted to, but the can was still holding up well.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
08/22/2017 at 22:26

You never know. A buddy of mine has had one on his car for years. We shall see.

shop-teacher > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
08/22/2017 at 22:30

A soup can is plan B if the soda cab gets burned through. I don’t want to take it apart and loose the rest of the riding season, or at least a big chunk of it.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:38

I think if you filled the cracks with JB weld and then put the can on you’re set for life.

Wait. JB weld is heat resistant right?

They sell kits for exhaust repair online for cheapo. I had to fix a similar thing on my boat once. Wraps on like an ace bandage. Doesn’t have much support strength when curing but with the can....

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:39

You’re aware the right thing to do is order a performance replacement exhaust and then open yourself to the new world of scooter mods with variator weights, and bored out cylinders and heads, etc? :P

shop-teacher > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
08/22/2017 at 22:39

I’ll look into that, thanks!

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:41

I’d leave it as is. Soup can is thicker and would probably hold up better, but I’d do it at the end of the season.

Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:43

Permatex 80334 1000 Degree Plus Exhaust Repair Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BOAMUI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tVoNzbYEGVZ48

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:46

Good luck!

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/22/2017 at 22:47

I may do that. The exhaust, not everything. I’m having trouble finding one that for sure will fit. It’s just a GY6 motor, but from my research the pipe routing/mounting is a bit different for the Super 8 150. I haven’t found much info.

shop-teacher > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
08/22/2017 at 22:48

We’ll see how it holds up.

shop-teacher > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
08/22/2017 at 22:51

That’s worth a shot!

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn
08/22/2017 at 22:51

Thanks!

MM54 > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:54

The folded edges and nicely-punched hole make this a very well executed hack-job. I fully approve.

(I’d usually go for a soup can but with a pipe that small, Coke was probably the right decision)

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 22:56

Maybe something on Scootertronics? I’ve looked at stuff there before for fun.

shop-teacher > MM54
08/22/2017 at 22:58

THANKS!

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/22/2017 at 22:58

I hadn’t heard of that one. I’ll check it out.

pip bip - choose Corrour > shop-teacher
08/22/2017 at 23:22

No tape?

CTSenVy > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 00:07

When my shop teachers saw me try stuff like this I usually got in trouble.

Shoop > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 00:08

Truly a master fabricator

Birddog > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 01:49

Outstanding!

Your headline, and fix, reminded me of the Red Green Man’s Prayer.

“I’m a Man. But I can change, if I have to. I guess.”

shop-teacher > Birddog
08/23/2017 at 06:42

HAHAHAHA! Thanks!

shop-teacher > CTSenVy
08/23/2017 at 06:46

Do as I say, not as I do!

One of my former coworkers, an auto shop teacher, has a really nice ‘48 Cadillac sedan. He’s been breathing on it for something like 20 years, and it is mechanically flawless. A true turn the key anytime and drive it anywhere classic. It’s also had a can patch of the exhaust for years.

shop-teacher > Shoop
08/23/2017 at 06:47

I take pride in my work :)

shop-teacher > pip bip - choose Corrour
08/23/2017 at 06:48

Not at this time. I have some foil tape though, so I may pull the heat shield back off and try wrapping it with that.

Stapleface > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 06:55

Not the same exact application, but it wouldn’t surprise me if JB Weld could hold up to the heat.

Years ago my stepdad fixed a CRX that threw a rod through the block by JB Welding a nickle over the hole. We had that car for another 10 years and 120k, and it was still running strong when it was sold.

shop-teacher > Stapleface
08/23/2017 at 07:01

That’s freaking awesome!

I considered JB Weld, but was afraid there’d be too much movement on this part and it would just crack.

Fl1ngstam > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 07:15

When I had my original old Mini, it developed a crack in the exhaust while I was on work experience in a factory. The maintenance guy offered a similar coke-can fix (when cans were made from thicker material). However, when I drove it in and attempted to jack it up, I discovered both jacking points (one each side on the little Mini) had rusted through, so the jack went up, but the car didn’t. Needless to say, I didn’t get the exhaust fixed that day...

fryguy > shop-teacher
08/23/2017 at 07:38

An excellent visual tutorial - including safety measures (gloves when handling sharp edges) and the Babu stencil. A thumbs up to ya!

shop-teacher > Fl1ngstam
08/23/2017 at 09:56

Whoops!

shop-teacher > fryguy
08/23/2017 at 09:57

Thanks! I’m usually pretty fast and loose about gloves, but not with this stuff.

shop-teacher > Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief
08/24/2017 at 22:50

The can blew out, so I ordered the exhaust patch. Thanks again for letting me know about that.

Berang > shop-teacher
08/28/2017 at 10:53

From real world experience: an aluminum soda can will burn through in short order (and if it happens at night, will make lots of bright orange glowy embers on the road behind you), what you want is a stainless steel beer can (beer cans for safety reasons are never aluminum).

shop-teacher > Berang
08/28/2017 at 11:57

Yeah, it did blow out in short order. I had no idea there was a difference in the cans. Why do beer cans need to be stainless steel? Thanks!

Berang > shop-teacher
08/28/2017 at 13:02

Aluminum reacts with alcohol to create poison basically. Although it seems after some googling, these days beer cans are aluminum, but with a plastic coating inside, instead of stainless steel. So I guess neither will hold up as an exhaust patch anymore.

shop-teacher > Berang
08/28/2017 at 13:24

Gotcha. I may try a soup can.