Featured Great tip to repare pipes and save money

I thought I'd put a quick post about this to help others.

I've got a couple of issue with my 2000 955i Daytona that have been covered in another topic. During that process I discovered that the ICV (idle control valve) and barometric air pressure pipes on my bike were badly cracked & perished on the sealing collars. These defects with the pipes are undoubtedly the cause of the bike cutting out when warm, as the ICV is unable to do its job properly.

t552 told me via private message that he's heard others fixing them with shrink wrap. Given that new ones are about £45 with delivery, I thought it was worth a try.

I'm pleased with the result and although some cracks are still visible at the very ends, I'll be surprised if they don't now seal properly. All thanks to t552.

The shrink wrap cost £3 - before and after;

 

Hi Dave, yes I was a little concerned at first and tried to Q-Bond the ends but the stretch required is too much and so the cracks on the very ends remain. That said, it only has to ensure that where the end of the corrugated pipe meets the throttle body (metal) tail/pipe (inside the collar) does not leak. I'm hoping that the bandage that the shrink wrap provides will be enough to achieve this. I will certainly know soon enough and will post up the results, I'm encouraged by the much firmer feel to the fit.

I hope it does work, aside from anything else the replacement prices are a bit stiff, particularly given that they are not really made out of a suitably robust material. The bike has only done 4900 miles and has clearly been well stored so these failing it this way is not really on in my view. I have a classic car that is 31 years only and still has many of the original rubber components.

As I say, I'll post up the results.

 

I have a few different sorts, though sods law, despite having loads of different sizes and colours I didn't have one large enough for this job. The previous stuff I got from eBay and was bought as a multi colour, multi size bundle. The stuff I bought for this application I just bought from my local trade electrical merchant, it cost £3 for 1 meter.

What I would say is, measure your application first otherwise it's easy to end up with stuff too big or small. Further to that (and I am no means an expert), it does have limited shrinking ability and so start with a size as close as you can get. The one above needed to be lubed to get it over the widest part and so that is ideal.

I shrink mine with a hot air gun but if you cannot or do not want to remove the item from the bike you can use a soldering iron in close proximity. The soldering iron is slower and you must make sure it doesn't touch it.

Black mastic? I do have some heat/oil proof silicone but decided not to use it as I just don't think it will work but do think it could make an unsightly mess. I'm all for a cheap fix but only when it's a decent one, once it starts to look a bit of a mess is when I place an order with Fowlers... Despite the visible splits in the ends I think it is the main body of the collars where it was leaking and that should be impossible now. That said, I suspect you meant smear it on the collars before shrink wrapping, yes, that would have been a good idea but it's too late for me to do that now without starting over. Hopefully the seal will be ok anyway.

 

Thanks for this, I'll bear it in mind for the future but I'm hopeful the shrink wrap does the trick as it's a neater solution.

 

Great idea, thanks!

Ordered; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15g-Castr...656463?hash=item1eaace28cf:g:WqsAAOxyu~lSTrTO

 

I think you're right and it's a good point. If I do ever replace any I think I will do the shrink wrap as a pre-emptive strike.

 

Just an update, I finally sorted the other problem with the bike today which gave me the chance to test this fix. Well, it works a treat, used to have very fluffy throttle response and would cut out all the time at tick over once warm - all cured now.

And thanks again to capt for the suggestion of rubber grease. I used on these but since buying some I have found uses for it loads of times on cars and bikes. Triumph seem to like rubber washers and grommets that bolts do up against. The smallest of smears sees the bolt turning nicely without snatching at the washer/grommet and best of all it kinda feeds the rubber and stops it drying out.