Interactive Exhaust Actuator

[[email protected]]

Hi folks - first time post. It seems that the interactive exhaust actuator has failed on my 07 XB12 Ss. Anyone have a good replacement unit for sale?

Thanks very much for any help you can provide

 

[Barrett]

here is pic of your stock IEV actuator motor assembly. new available but pricey at around $149 list. notice bell-crank assembly. first series of letters/numbers on barcode sticker is the buell OEM part number.

here is pic of DORMAN substitute unit courtesy of FORD motor company. retail for around $60 and readily available. DORMAN part number is 911-912. notice the bell-crank assembly.

easy to transfer the XB bell-crank to the Dorman. Dorman is superb quality and plugs right in.
Dorman internal gears robust and all metal. Superb! your OEM cable bracket easily transfers to the Dorman.

thank me later.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks so much for a quick response. My cable OEM bracket is part of the part casting - plastic. Looking inside the unit I cannot see any stripped gears.



When i run the test using the throttle and run switch the actuator doesn’t cycle close/open/closed. It seems to favor the open position. The spring on the armature has a heavy spring that seems to favor the open position. Not sure this is normal.



Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Kevin

 

[Barrett]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^early 2007 and later style. earlier models as i recall had the shiny zinc-plated style cable bracket. later had dedicated bracket as part of housing.
there is a coil spring under the black colored plastic piece in your pic. in all likelihood the protruding plastic "nib" that holds it in place has broken off.

 

[njloco]

Isn't it possible that your ECM was reprogrammed to keep the exhaust valve opened ?

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for all the advice - My xb12 Ss is a May 2007 build so the original actuator had the integrated plastic cable bracket. I bought the DORMAN 911-912 actuator and swapped the cranks. Had a friendly mechanic weld it for me. All working well. Sadly, the original actuator failed open so i liked the sound but the bike was a bit jumpy. All smooth, powerful and quiet now . The new actuator test well and I assume works well. Thanks for all the help. The DORMAN 911-912 is definitely the way to go as a new, strengthened part. I milled away some extra metal from a lowes 90 degree angle bracket for a cable bracket - works great - just use loctite .

 

[[email protected]]

Just want to share a couple pics - bought the bike a couple months ago with a few issues - 2 owner

- bike was dirty for only 7500 miles but i had to have it though. Huge detail work
- Needed front brake work - new EBR hardware and EBC pads
- rotated motor for rocker gasket fix - time consuming but worth it - used cometic gaskets and hylomar blue as a sealer
- new rear wheel bearings
- wix oil filter and amsoil
- cooler NGK 9 iridium plugs
- some decent new bar ends - i think the bike was dropped at a stand still - still need to fix a scuff on on the frame paint

Bike is well sorted now and extremely fun. Happy to own it,

 

[[email protected]]

Some more pics









Hope all enjoy - the experience has been rewarding.

As long as i dont hit electrical issues i think i will be ok -

 

[njloco]

Good luck with the bike.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Cooter]

Looks like you saved a good one! I have a thing for that Orange Depending on where you live, be careful running the cooler plugs. Some people even think it makes the engine run colder, LOL.

Buells have a VERY rich cold start map, so it will be extra sensitive to cold starts, and any blipping the throttle will foul he plugs quickly. The Buell Rule is if you start it... RIDE it:up:

Have fun with it!

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks Gents.

Cooter - should I go back to the hotter plug? I’ve noticed that it does take a bit to warm up with the 9s. How hard is it to change the plugs with the engine all the way up? I changed them when i rotated the engine for new rocker gaskets. Looks painful.

 

[Sdrxb12s]

It's not that bad. Wrench for the front. Socket extension and wobble for back one use some gas hose to start the back one in . Probably lots of other ways to

 

[Cooter]

Yup ^^^^ nailed it. EZ PZ.

I'm not saying its a bad choice of plug, lots of people run them just fine. Just saying to be aware is all:eagerness:

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the tip Cooter. Think I should go back to hotter plugs? I’m in southern Pennsylvania and the bike does take some time to warm up. I only start it to run .

 

[Cooter]

Theres no temp gauge, how do you know it takes a long time to warm up? Air-cooled engines are very different than the water cooled variety you are used to in your car. They are designed to operate in a much larger temperature range. From below freezing (remember no water jackets to freeze:up to approx 285* (I'm guessing at that figure from the ECM temp/intervention limits).

You'll need the right viscosity (weight) of oil for drastic temps either way, but most of the Buell programming I've seen doesn't engine kill until about 270-305(!)* Your car would be long dead at those temps.

Oil is the life/blood of any air cooled engine and any V-twin is hard on oil, so I make sure to have a high film strength 'V-twin specific' oil in the correct weight for the temps I ride in. Start it cold, give it about a minute to circulate oil and away ya go. IMO.

 

[tinknocker]

Hi all. I bought the Dorman actuator as the original one on my '08 Uly has been intermittently malfunctioning and a Buell replacement is NLA. How do you index the Buell bellcrank to the Dorman actuator properly before welding it on so it works like the original?

 

[Sdrxb12s]

Hey cooter for the actuator could you not swap a like size motor in the actuator. I assume the circuit board tells the motor how to run in its perimeters

 

[tinknocker]

Can't see the pics Barrett. So, there's a flat on the shaft stem?

 

[Barrett]

Can't see the pics Barrett. So, there's a flat on the shaft stem?

here.

You can either note the orientation by taking a picture before you remove the original or you can just make sure the flat part is parallel with the bottom edge as shown in the pic below. Some controllers have reference dots that show the home and fully extended positions as viewed through the cable hole. simplest is to be sure your old controller and new dorman replacement are in the "home" position....then make your compatible mark/marks....remove bell-crank from bad OEM controller and transfer it over. as in pic below.

 

[Cooter]

Hey cooter for the actuator could you not swap a like size motor in the actuator. I assume the circuit board tells the motor how to run in its perimeters

I think (*guessing) from looking at some ECM parameters that the IEV works only open/close on a limiter (not position sensitive). It's not on a variable potentiometer or stepper, but can have different "ramp up" times determined by the ECM.

IMO, not worth the hassle. I would buy the Dorman replacement motor like John suggests.

Actually, I'd toss the whole thing and buy a Drummer:love_heart: