Exhaust manifold removal...

[Nicholas]

Good evening everyone,



Are their any tricks to removing an exhaust manifold without breaking off the mounting bolts into the engine head?



If a person should happen to break off a mounting bolt, how is the broken bolt best removed without damaging the engine head?



I will soon be performing a PDR HX-35 turbo upgrade on my 1st gen. Along with the turbo upgrade, I will also be replacing my exhaust manifold, exhaust manifold gaskets, and mounting bolts.



Any tips, tricks, advise or information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.



Respectfully,



Nicholas R. Gajewski

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

Hi Nicholas,



Good to see you around the ranch.....



The method I've seen used is pretty straight forward and fairly common...



Use LOTS of penetrating fluid in the days leading up to the work.

Remove the manifold, and hope for the best...

If you go to pull the bolts from the head and break one off, you need to drill it, and use an easy out of sufficient size. Also at the same time you'll use penetrating fluid and as a last resort you would use a propane torch to heat the area around the broken stud, then thread in the easy out and give that a try. You will need to apply enough heat to cause the bolt hole to expand a bit, but that is the only way I know of to get them out... It's nerve racking to say the least...



Bob.

 

[RDusch]

Nicholas,

I just removed mine a couple of weeks ago to install the new ATS manifold, I sprayed the bolts every day for a week prior to trying to remove it, when the time came they all came right out no problems, the hardest one are each end where the manifold had shrunk so badly ... ... ... ... ... ... .



Good Luck, Rick

 

[formula]

Better to use a 6-point socket, less chance of rounding over the bolt head. I did mine in a similar manner as described above. Sprayed the bolts with PB blaster every day for a week before removal. Used a 6-point socket and a 1/2" breaker bar. The "pucker factor" was rather high on a couple of the bolts, but they all came out without breaking.



Sean

 

[Greenleaf]

NO Problem

Recently replaced the gaskets on a 1989 school bus w/out difficulty. Used heat on the bolts and they loosened just fine.



I'll be doing the same to my DODGE along with turbo/pyro soon and hope it's as easy. The DODGE dose'nt appear to be quite as rusty so am hoping for the best



Scott

 

[KBalzuweit]

Definitely use the PB Blaster! Its the best, I had to remove a trailer hitch last weekend and had a breaker bar on the bolt and it would not move, sprayed it a few times over an hour and off it came. The stuff is great!

 

[Nicholas]

Greetings everyone,



I would like to let everyone know I have successfully removed, and installed my new exhaust manifold without any problems. I used plenty of "PB Blaster", and a 6-point socket as suggested in previous posts. Upon installation of the new exhaust manifold, I used plenty of anti-sieze compound on all the critical mounting fasteners.



The installation of my new PDR HX-35 has also been a great success as well. I feel the PDR HX-35 greatly compliments the Lucas/Delphi POD injectors. With almost 800 miles on my new PDR HX-35 it seems to spool faster, and sound better everytime I drive the truck.



I would like to thank everyone for all the great advise, tips, and tricks, It is greatly appreciated.



Thanks again,



Nicholas R. Gajewski