Exhaust pipe spring mount snapped - B1100

[LeakyLogic]

After doing some preventative maintenance and upon connecting the y-pipe to the silencer, the mount that the spring connects to snapped on the silencer. Now I'm not sure if there is another way to connect the spring without welding a new mount on the silencer. I was thinking of adding a clamp, but not sure of a good way to create a spot for the spring to hook onto.

Has anyone come up with a solution using some commonly found hardware?

[rodekyll]

Go to the marine supply store.  They have stainless steel bands with tabs on them.  If you can't gind one, look through jacksonracing's recent posts.  He made a comment about hanging a supertrapp pipe that might apply here.  Or search supertrapp.

If it was me and I couldn't find something I like at a marine supply, I'd get a couple of heavy duty SS bands and use them to clamp the arms of a T bracket to the tube.  Then I'd use the leg of the T as my tab.  That might get ugly though if it shows.

[LeakyLogic]

I'll be sure to see what the marine supply has for a more elegant solution.

I was thinking that bending a large enough washer in half to 90deg. Then try to thread the clamp through the washer. This should leave enough of a loop in the washer to hook the spring to it. I may have to reshape the hole in the washer to a D shape before it's bent. That might help the washer sit flat against the pipe and clamp.

[rodekyll]

There is a band clamp like is used on the fuel injection intake rubbers that uses a screw and nut instead of that worm gear to tighten.  If you can get one of those in stainless you might be able to hook the spring directly to the screw shaft, either as a hook or peel out a full loop and thread the screw through it.  That gets you the same as the washer idea except for bending the washer.  Nobody in the history of washers ever accurately bent one on purpose.  They got that written down somewhere.  Now accidently bending a washer, especially when it's a bad idea to have one so, is a fairly commonplace event.  It's important to understand the difference if you're going to get into the nuances of washer bending.  Just sayin.

[edit]

This clamp idea was something we did on the loops when the big nut threads got messed up past dealing with.  It worked until a combination of the vibration and the spring walked the clamp down the pipe, making the spring ineffective.  The heat/cool cycle didn't help either.  I mentioned a comment in another topic where Gordon describes his fix for a very similar situation using a wrap of rubber to stop the clamp from walking.  The topic he commented in was about hanging a pipe not anchoring a spring, but the problem is the same.  Since you aren't right up against the head with the rubber, it might work for you, too. 

[bad Chad]

I had that happen on my Mistral exhaust a couple years ago, losing the tab and spring has had no effect what so ever.

[LeakyLogic]

I took it for a short test ride after servicing and the lack of spring seemed not to make a difference. I cannot say with confidence there are no strange rattles because I couldn't go too fast.

I would like to fix it just because it broke.

The preventative maintenance I performed goes against the old adage, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I guess this is the price I had to pay.

By the way, the maintenance was to lube the swingarm bearings.