Welding pipes

[akpasta]

My right-side pipe has a crack where the header and muffler meet. pictured here.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/ ... G_2146.jpg

Seems okay for now but eventually it's going to get worse and break. Should I just take the pipe to any old weld shop that seems nice and ask them to weld it up? Is it that simple? Should I take it to a motorcycle repair shop or something? I guess I should make some alignment marks so they put it back on in the right spot so it mounts correctly too, right? What have you guys done in the past?

Thanks.

[mike in idaho]

Dont weld it. That's a crimped joint that is there to allow a small amount of movement for alignment purposes.

[akpasta]

I understand the crimped joint, that's not what's "cracked" in the picture. It's the other side of that joint, between the crimp and the header, look a bit more closely.

also, someone else on this board said that the crimped joint is not supposed to move.

[Snakeoil]

I have to admit that I've done a lot of failure and crack analysis over the years on large rotating equipment and I'm hard pressed to see the crack in your photo. I see a radial line on the header pipe, but it looks more like a scratch in the chrome. I see a an axial line that also looks like a scratch. All are to the right of the crimp joint attachment point. If one of those is your crack, I'd have somebody that knows what they are doing, weld it up for you. Take it to a certified welder.

Not sure I am looking at your crack because you mention match marking it. If you are trying to tell us that the right side of the crimp joint has come free, that's not a crack, that's a failed weld. I suspect that part is spot welded or similarly attached to the header pipe. If that is the case, then yes, match mark it while on the bike and then take it to a certified welder for repair. He may be able to spot weld it for you and make it look like it was never repaired.

regards,
Rob