Exhaust removal

Purfler · Postby **Purfler** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 9:53 am

Hi,

I'm trying to remove the engine an gearbox as one unit from my NA. The resons for doing this is to replace the gearbox - I have a low km Jap one and the original has a bearing problem - and while I'm there do the cam belt, seals water pump clutch etc. I need to separate the exhaust manifold from the pipe. There are three nuts at the flange as as I'm sure you know and access is not all that easy. I have cleared access as much as possible, soaked it all in WD40 for a day but still cannot shift them. I do not want to force things too much for fear of damaging the nuts.

Any suggestions, words of wisdome etc very much appreciated.

Regards and thanks in advance,

Tim

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:04 am

Keep soaking them and trying with the spanner/socket.

They're old, rusty, and have been heat cycled thousands of times so they'll be stuck on tight.

I've heard that you can help loosed a nut by heating it up with a blowtorch and then quenching it with cold water (the shock can help the nut lose it's grip)
I've never had any luck with that, but my torch isn't particularly hot.

Other option is to buy a nut splitter, but that will also mean needing to replace the nuts afterwards.

Snowmotion · Postby **Snowmotion** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:55 am

If they start rounding invest in a set of Bolt Extractors... They are awesome with a rounded nut. My set has saved me hours fixing problems already.

http://www.irwin.com/tools/browse/screw ... extractors

sailaholic · Postby **sailaholic** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:25 am

Try using a hammer on the end of the breaker bar handle when you have it loaded. Alternative try hitting the head of the bolt when you've got the spanner / socket loaded up.

The jolt helps break them free.

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hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:32 am

Snowmotion wrote:If they start rounding invest in a set of Bolt Extractors... They are awesome with a rounded nut. My set has saved me hours fixing problems already.

http://www.irwin.com/tools/browse/screw ... extractors

^
These are a must have for any toolkit.

Purfler · Postby **Purfler** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:38 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. Since my OP I have moved one of the nuts. I think a shorter extension followed by the universal joint might help me get proper purchase. My universal joint is fouling the heat shield. I wondered about removing the mounting bracket from the bell housing. I thought it might give a few more mm of access.

A year ago the nuts were not frozen - I tried them one day knowing I'd have to remove them for the gearbox change (I planned a long way ahead). I put WD40 on them at the time. I think this might have been a mistake and it has now "cooked" I know from antique clocks the problem WD40 can cause in clock movments (don't ever use it!).

Thanks,

Tim

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:47 pm

Worth make a product called "Rost-off" that my girlfriend swears by for rusted nuts/bolts, she uses it at her work where they deal with nothing but old pommy cars (so there's no shortage of rusted bolts)

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:47 pm

"Rattle gun" with proper impact wrench sockets (they fit tighter than regular sockets - NEVER use 12-point sockets), long extension bars, wobble bars and flex-joint socket connectors are handy for this job, just make sure that the socket sits flush on the nut/bolt when you press the trigger - a 2nd set of eyes is handy for this.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:55 pm

I only just remembered the part about removing enigne and gearbox as a whole.

If the nuts on the 3bolt flange are stuck, why not just undo the headers at the head?
Much easier access, and it will give you more room when you're swinging the engine out of the bay.

Undo nuts at head, undo the nuts on the midpipe flange, then slide the whole lot out through the engine bay.
Easier to do, more room to reach engine mounts, more room to swing the engine about.

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:06 pm

hks_kansei wrote:
Snowmotion wrote:If they start rounding invest in a set of Bolt Extractors... They are awesome with a rounded nut. My set has saved me hours fixing problems already.

http://www.irwin.com/tools/browse/screw ... extractors

^
These are a must have for any toolkit.

^
Agree, but beware when using on cooked/rusted exhaust nuts & bolts. My cooked rust was harder than the nut, & the irwin extractor tool literally circumsized the nut. In the end we had to use heat & a cold chisel.

hks_kansei · Postby **hks_kansei** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 5:20 pm

Gladiator wrote: In the end we had to use heat & a cold chisel.

Bow River or Khe Sanh?

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 6:31 pm

"Best of Cold Chisel" is a "must-have" in your toolkit and long-drive library.

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Purfler · Postby **Purfler** » Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:55 am

hks_kansei wrote:I only just remembered the part about removing enigne and gearbox as a whole.

If the nuts on the 3bolt flange are stuck, why not just undo the headers at the head?
Much easier access, and it will give you more room when you're swinging the engine out of the bay.

Undo nuts at head, undo the nuts on the midpipe flange, then slide the whole lot out through the engine bay.
Easier to do, more room to reach engine mounts, more room to swing the engine about.

I was wondering about this approach and if my final attempt this morning to move the flange nuts fails it is what I'm going to do. Heat and cold chisels etc don't seem to be feasable in the very restricted space. I expect problems with the heat shield bolts but I think this is the lesser of the 2 evils.

Thanks all for the suggestions - very much appreciated.

Tim