[jaybey]

I have purchased the Thermo-Tec Copper Exhaust Wrap and the high temperature adhesive and some stainless steel zip clamps to put it on with. Now for the process of getting it wrapped. What I want to do is wrap the exhaust pipe from the header out to where the muffler connects to the exhaust pipe.
1. Has anyone out there put exhaust wrap on the header pipe?
2. How did you manage it? Did you remove the pipe from the header?
3. How did you manage to get the wrap around the pipe in that tight space?
Any advice or hint will be greatly appreciated.[B)]
Joe in Tucson, AZ

 

[Fire Guy]

I took the header off, was a bit hard getting it back on - but it worked

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o194/FireGuy315/P4250073.jpg[/IMG:6fea4ab288]
[IMG]http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o194/FireGuy315/P4250071.jpg[/IMG:6fea4ab288]

 

[Guest]

Nice Job! That should do the trick!

AL

 

[toymvr]

Nice Job Don
are you having any moisture Problems?

 

[ElecTech]

When the '05 units first came out and the heat was melting everything, this was one of the first tricks a lot of folks tried. The best I can remember, it turns your exhaust into a crumbled up mess in short order and you will be ordering a new one. Now, whether it was different stuff they were using or not, I cannot tell you.

 

[toymvr]

Thanks

 

[Roadrunner]

I have heard the same thing too Bruce. I don't think I would be putting that stuff on my Ranger

 

[desert rat]

05 XPs did not have stainless steel exhaust.

 

[Guest]

The problem with heat wrap is that holds in moisture which promotes rusting (very quickly). You'd think it would be hot enough to dry it out but it definitely creates a rust problem.

Stainless steel is not completely resistant to rust, but rather is more corrosion resistant to rust. Corrosion can occur in the absence of proper maintenance.

Ceramic coating seems the next best thing!

 

[Big Kahuna]

I used Thermo Tec Header blankets on my 05 XP exhaust and they help quite a bit. Did not have to take the exhaust off to put it on and they are not wrapped tight like header wrap. So far so good.

http://www.thermotec.com/products/full/11240/11240.html

 

[ElecTech]

Thanks for the report Steve. It must have been a different kind of wrap that caused the problems.

 

[mrshoer]

Has anyone tried ceramic coating? I had heat problems on my Sportsman 700 when I put on the SP800 header. The coating helped a lot but didn't cure the heat issue 100%.

 

[alnash]

Ive got a exhaust system coming from Dale at Bikeman that will be ceramic coated i will post the results.

 

[AZsand]

Exhaust rap is very effective in arizona and i would not worry about rust.as a matter of fact i think you have a great idea.I run this style rap on all my drag pipes.Jethot is cool but it only disapates a small amount of heat.But for you guy's back in swamp country why not jethot then rap..??????

 

[jaybey]

I used to have a Thermo Tec Clamp-on Pipe Heat Shield on my Ranger but it got so hot it burnt it and caused a very nasty smell. It was so bad I could smell it at 45 MPH with the windows rolled down! Duh!. I ended up taking it off after 6 months when I did it all but crumbled. I am hoping I don't have to burn the header wrap in for a month before the smell goes away.
Joe in Tucson, AZ

 

[seasonedsole]

I have an 05 500. I have never had heat issues. Is mine late 05 that was corrected, or is the problem only on 700?

 

[ElecTech]

The heat issue was only on the 700's, mainly on the '05 units.

 

[seasonedsole]

Thanks Bruce, been wandering about that ever since I joined PRC.

 

[jaybey]

Its done. I had a devil of a time getting the header back on and I learned as I went. But the wrap is in place. I never saw anything about wetting the wrap before applying it, I'm sure it would have made it much easier to get it snug and would have been less messy. Here are my steps.
1. remove heat shields. 2. Remove fan. 3. Remove springs from exhaust pipes. 4. Remove four header bolts. 5. Mask areas I didn't want adhesive and paint. 6. Apply adhesive to header pipe. 7. Wrap Thermo-tec copper header wrap. 8. Install stainless steel zip ties. 9. Apply more adhesive where the wrap appeared loose. 9. Remove exhaust pipe from muffler and repeat steps 5 thru 8 to this pipe. After 24 hours of drying I applied two coats of high temperature paint and 24 hours after that I applied more paint.

This morning at 7 AM I began re-assembly. The real pain in the @$$ was putting the header bolts back in the aluminum header. I used anti-seize compound. But the problem is you can't put any one bolt in too far otherwise the others bind. I ended up alternating one turn to each until they were as tight as I wanted them.

I did a road test about 5 miles round trip and ran for some gas. I had one driver holler that I was smoking real bad. By the time I got home it wasn't smoking anymore but there is still some odor. I figure if I make a 4 hour run tomorrow most of the smell will be burnt away.

The Ranger does seem quieter than before. We'll see how well it holds up in a month. No picture were taken.
Joe in Tucson
PS: If anyone else decides to do this WET THE WRAP.

 

[mike65072]

Thanks for the great write up. You forgot to mention how many beers it took for the project[][]