Exhaust Y Gasket replacement

[WackyDan]

Tools: Metric sockets, Socket extensions, Pry bar (optional), ATV lift or ramps, and either wood blocks or floor jack to support Y manifold.

Oh... And a big rubber mallet and anger management. * Very important.

A second pair of hands is required for only five minutes towards the end of the install. My wife was able to do this no problem.

Parts: Either the BRP Y gaskets or the Honda GL 1800 Gaskets. The Honda Gaskets will last longer according to others here that have used them. They are also cheaper. Part number for the Honda GL1800 gasket is 18392-MAM-000

First... This is what we are talking about below in the picture. You will need to remove the lower kick panels on both sides for the best access. I found that to be easiest, though getting the pipes back together was a challenge. Left side and then right side in pics below.



This is what we need to get in there. A new Gasket on the left and right side.



You will need to have the Spyder elevated several inches to do this comfortably.

Before you start attacking the pipes, have a floor jack or stack of wood handy to support the entire Y pipe manifold from underneath.

To start disassembly, you will need to remove the spring on each side. I used a pair of vice grips but others have used some sort of hooked tool.

You then will want to loosen the 10mm bolt on each clamp assembly in the pictures above.

You will need to unhook the rubber exhaust hanger that is supporting the whole assembly. it is easier to slide it off the top hook. Please make sure you have blocking in place to support the pipes, as you do not want to put pressure on the O2 sensor wire harness which feeds back up above the swing arm.

Hanger and O2 sensor are noted in the following pics:



Picture with the jack in place to support the whole assembly as I worked it loose. Floor jack was nice as I screwed the white plate on the jack up or down as I needed play... You could do the same with multiple wood boards in a stack.



Once you have the jack in place, you can loosen the muffler bolt found here:


Now you can fully loosen the pipe clamps if you haven't already and work the Y manifold free from the headers.

Once they are free, you will need to pull the old gaskets out. I found pulling them out to be a challenge. The left side was in great shape and was the hardest to pull out. The right side wasn't terrible, but it wasn't in as good shape as the left side and pulled out rather easily. In fact, I was surprised by the right side. I thought it would have been in worse shape than it was. You will probably find that the old gaskets are baked onto and into the female ends of the Y-Pipe.

No you can take the new gaskets and place them on the male ends of the header pipes which is the header side of the connection. It should look like the picture below.



That is about it. A second pair of hands is handy. Let me say that getting the pipes up over the new gasket and fully seated required some anger, some light prying, and the application of anger via a large rubber mallet. Once I had the lower pipe on one side started by hand, I used the mallet to smack that side from the bottom of the manifold. Got one side up half way, had my wife hold it to make sure it didn't slip, and then worked on the other side. Used the mallet to fully seat them, partially tightened the clamps, and reinstalled the springs.

The service manual calls for 13 Nm or 115 pounds of torque. Pretty sure that 115 is a misprint as that is way different than 13Nm. I set the torque wrench at 15 pounds and finished tightening. The weird thing is that as the gaskets compress a bit and it screws with the torque wrench actually working normally. Just had to be careful.

EDIT AND NOTE ABOUT TORQUE ON THE CLAMPS ( FROM BILLYBOVINE) : Great post Wacky Dan but I don't think the service manual had a misprint. 13 Nm equals 115 pounds force inch. Maybe you confused it with pounds force foot wich would be 9.6. In that case you could have over torqued it.

After all that, make sure the rubber hanger is put back in place, and the muffler bolt is tightened again!

Start up the bike, let it run for 5 minutes or so. You will smell the new gaskets "cooking" in. After that I put the wrench back on the clamps for another 1/4 turn or so.

I think that sums it up. This wasn't hard at all. I already had the bike torn down for oil change and plug changes so this was a good time to do these and upgrade to the honda parts.

My biggest pain was just getting the pipes back together as they don't line up nicely, though yours might versus mine. I could do this in under an hour now that I've done it once.

I hope this helps those that don't understand what the Gaskets are or where they go and some of the steps in photos needed to get them done. If I missed something, let me know.