question about using water to fix dents in header pipe

[Octanee]

hi guys, just had a question, my 450 has bunch of dents in the header pipe and kind of a deep one, ive been riding it for a while like this and its been fine, just not sure if its something that will make it not run as well or what?

also with the freezing water, do i just put it into the freezer with the U upright no caps or anything? i dont have anything to cap off the exhaust anyhow, so thats why im just checking on that, thanks!

front side theres a dent ontop close to the head then on the front middle in the U theres one then a couple under it then in the second picture theres one on the side and you can tell by the little shield there how its messed up

[Polar_Bus]

hi guys, just had a question, my 450 has bunch of dents in the header pipe and kind of a deep one, ive been riding it for a while like this and its been fine, just not sure if its something that will make it not run as well or what?

also with the freezing water, do i just put it into the freezer with the U upright no caps or anything? i dont have anything to cap off the exhaust anyhow, so thats why im just checking on that, thanks!

front side theres a dent ontop close to the head then on the front middle in the U theres one then a couple under it then in the second picture theres one on the side and you can tell by the little shield there how its messed up

When I used the "freeze method" to pop out my head pipe dent I filled the pipe with water so as to be approx 4" above the dent, and proped the pipe leaning against the wall so the dent was at the bottom. It took 2 freeze cycles and my dent is 90% removed . Very "cool" trick ! ?

[cowboyona426]

I tried the water method once, it didn't work at all... small ding right about where yours is.

On edit- that was on the stock Ti header off my 06.

Edited August 22, 2011 by cowboyona426

[Octanee]

im just wondering ifyou have to cap off the pipe for this to work or if it works with out the ends capped off

[mikewrf18]

im just wondering ifyou have to cap off the pipe for this to work or if it works with out the ends capped off

I didn't cap mine off, and it still worked. You have to be patient, and check it often though. I heard if you cap it off you are more apt to split the pipe because the water has no where to go when it freezes if you fill it up to far. I refroze mine multiple times over a couple days. Still has a tiny dent where the larger dent was, but I just got unpatient and wanted to ride! ?

[USED YZ426F]

The freezer works best on a 2-stroke pipe as the metal tends to be thinner.

The 4-stroke pipes are generally a little thicker and thus tend to not respond as well.

[grayracer513]

The header in question here is a stock YZF header, by the look of it. They are titanium, and no more than .040" (1mm) thick. Some of the stainless headers are a lot thicker, but that's not what he has.

[Octanee]

aside from it should work, should i put the effort into doing it? is there any point to it other then seeing a less dented header pipe?

[mikewrf18]

The header in question here is a stock YZF header, by the look of it. They are titanium, and no more than .040" (1mm) thick. Some of the stainless headers are a lot thicker, but that's not what he has.

That's what I have on my WR450F, an 08' YZF TI header, dented in the same place. I had to freeze it many times. It's still not perfect, but looks much better.

[SEOINAGE]

never tried the freeze method, but on my two stroke I capped the ends and pumped it full of air pressure then heated the dented area and put it back to perfect.

[Polar_Bus]

I tried the water method once, it didn't work at all... small ding right about where yours is.

On edit- that was on the stock Ti header off my 06.

I have an 07 header, it's Ti, and the freeze method (after the second attempt) worked great. I had a pretty deep dent, the freeze method probably just doesn't create enough force to pop small shallow dents.

[MEBANE NIGHT]

Tried it 2 times and it was a lot better than it was when i started ;

[Octanee]

good to know, thanks guys, but as ive asked, is is there actually a point to doing this? performance gain or something? like what do the dents do in the exhaust, i mean if you have a really bad one i know it would be restrictive, but one thats not that deep, i wonder if theres any point in taking the effort to freeze the pipe???

[Hurricane]

never tried the freeze method, but on my two stroke I capped the ends and pumped it full of air pressure then heated the dented area and put it back to perfect.

This method works on the thumper pipes too.

[MaxPower]

I found it very important to remove the pipe from the freezer before my wife goes for ice for her drink.

[Sharky4910]

good to know, thanks guys, but as ive asked, is is there actually a point to doing this? performance gain or something? like what do the dents do in the exhaust, i mean if you have a really bad one i know it would be restrictive, but one thats not that deep, i wonder if theres any point in taking the effort to freeze the pipe???

Yes there is a point in removing large restrictive dents from the header. My buddy ignored the large dent on his 00 YZ250 pinger and sure enough after a few heated rides a hole blew right out of the center of the dent. I believe it was a SS fmf pipe at the time, not the stock Ti. Spare yourself from buying a new header, good luck!

[Digger01]

worked on my 426 took 2 cycles to get it out. I didnt cork up ends left them open.

[jdaugherty33]

Can anyone confirm they've had this work on a SS header pipe? I've tried the freeze method on my SS Powerbomb about 5 or six times and it doesn't seem to do anything. I'll keep trying if anyone's had it work for them, but I'm thinking the SS may be too thick.

[Hurricane]

Can anyone confirm they've had this work on a SS header pipe? I've tried the freeze method on my SS Powerbomb about 5 or six times and it doesn't seem to do anything. I'll keep trying if anyone's had it work for them, but I'm thinking the SS may be too thick.

I don't think so. My friend tried it with his powerbomb and he ended up having to use air and heat to get the dents out.

[atomic410]

i have a header from an 06 yz450f that i would sell if you want to go that way