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moving exhaust pipes

KayS

Well Known Member
Hi All,

i have the vetterman 4-2 exhaust. the two exit pipes are secured as per instruction... using these rubber tubes that are connect to steel rods (that are flared at the ends) via hose clamps. at some point the left exhaust pipe started moving slowly downwards, secured that with additional hose clamps and it seems to hold. then the other pipe was moving and i did the same on that part but it still moves.

is there anything better than these hose clamps?

Cheers
Kay

PS: don't know if that thread belongs to maintainance section or so.
 
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Had the same issue, actually the hose fully slipped off the tube. Our fix was to fabricate new tubes and rather than flatten the tube , we put the tube in a vise with the bottom (opposite) end on solid steel. With the open end up we took a center punch and flared the ends. Just as the alum. fuel lines just not as much so the hose could still be stretched over the tube. Hasn't moved since being modified.
 
If installed with care, they won't move. I scuffed the SS tubes with course sandpaper and cleaned with acetone. Then throughly clean the inside of the rubber with acetone to get rid of the release agents. Clamp tight when installed. If done this way, they stay put.

In your case, use new rubber.

Larry
 
My simple, positive method

I removed the tubes and replaced them with this :
E3B35F77-0598-491B-8A12-632B295E2884.jpg
It’s muffler hanging material from The auto parts store. I used 1/4” or 5/16” bolts with washers to attach to the metal standoffs I made. The standoffs I cut from 1/16” sheet steel I bought from ACS. Made them about 1/2” wide and 2 to 3” long. Bent them to fit the same mounting spots as the tubes and then cut the tire material of the hanger to fit so that each supported the exhaust with no tension.
Over 700 hours of maintenance free operation.
 
At the bolt hole end of each tube, drill a 3/32 hole longitudinally into the inside of the tube. Snake .041 ss safety wire from one end to the other and tie off at each bolt hole end. (It may be easier to slip the assembly apart and run a piece of wire from each end toward the middle, and then splice) If the hose wants to slip in service, the wire will be in tension, and stop the migration.
 
The hose clamp must be placed just above the flare. Any vibration/force will pull the hose out to that point.
 
I've used a grinding wheel to grind some roughness (heavy duty scuffing) into the tubes. Ground a series of rings around the circumference of the tube. The hose clamp should be able to span two of those scuffed rings. This has been working and eliminates the necessity of getting the hose clamp up close to the end of a flared tube end.
 
Product opportunity

Problems with the exhaust hangers on RVs seem to be common. If there was an after market solution that improves on the crude design I’d buy it. Allan?
 
Folks, thanks for your inputs! seems i'm not alone. will assess the situation on the airplane and report back. scuffing/grinding of the steel tube and cleaning seems to be the easiest solution for now.
 
I removed the tubes and replaced them with this :
View attachment 22613
It’s muffler hanging material from The auto parts store. I used 1/4” or 5/16” bolts with washers to attach to the metal standoffs I made. The standoffs I cut from 1/16” sheet steel I bought from ACS. Made them about 1/2” wide and 2 to 3” long. Bent them to fit the same mounting spots as the tubes and then cut the tire material of the hanger to fit so that each supported the exhaust with no tension.
Over 700 hours of maintenance free operation.

I fabricated a similar solution using a piece of an automotive timing belt. Works perfectly.

Peter
 
I've used a grinding wheel to grind some roughness (heavy duty scuffing) into the tubes. Ground a series of rings around the circumference of the tube. The hose clamp should be able to span two of those scuffed rings. This has been working and eliminates the necessity of getting the hose clamp up close to the end of a flared tube end.

Did similar to this and hangers are still there.
 
Folks, thanks for your inputs! seems i'm not alone. will assess the situation on the airplane and report back. scuffing/grinding of the steel tube and cleaning seems to be the easiest solution for now.

maybe it's a bit twisted quoting yourself. anyway...

my exhaust pipes are still moving. i scuffed and grinded the steel tubes, cleaned them, installed new hoses with a zillion clamps and torqued them until they almost fail... and these suckers still move. slowly but they do.

did anyone try to use thick safety wire around the hoses? i'm thinking just to loop them around the hoses and tighten with safety wire plier?

if that doesn't work i will switch to the solution Keith suggested in post #4.

thanks for your help.
Kay
 
Flare it

Hello Kay,

As another responder suggested just put a small flare at the end of each tube. Be sure to debur so the flare doesn't introduce a laceration. With a hose clamp butted up to the flare there is no way that hose is going to move. Use your standard flaring tool and just flare lightly
 
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Exhaust hangers

I replaced all the stainless steel tubes with "eye bolts." They are slightly more heavy but the threaded ends provide a good surface for the hose and clamp to lock into. I have not had to replace them or realign them since installation.

Chuck Brietigam
RV-6XXL
 
@Vincent: my tubes do have these flares.

That's really interesting. Can you tell how the motion happens over the flare? Is the rubber tube sliding underneath the clamp? Is the clamp and rubber tube somehow riding together over the flare? Did your rubber tubes somehow get contaminated with something and get gummy and soft / did intolerant tubing get used?

I bench tested that setup with flares and could not for all my best effort get it to slip.
 
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