what is your trick to remove a broker exhaust bolt ? and what is the best whey to not broke exhaust manifild bolt ? thanks
Exhaust manifold bolts are tricky. Im going to assume the heads are still on the car? Getting the broken one out depends on if there is any of the bolt you can get a vise grip on. If there is, heat it up with a torch. Get it cherry red and try and move it with a vise grip. Dont heat the bolt itself, but the area around the bolt. Do the same for the ones that havent broken yet to remove them. I would just recommend taking the heads off and sending them out to a machine shop that can remove them for you. U.S. machine shops charge 40.00 per broken stud. When re assembling, use stainless bolts and alot of anti sieze! Jason
Stainless What Jason says Jason Stainless bolts are so damn good that mine keep loosening up, I've used anti-seize and hi-temp silicon, but I'm always tightening up a few loose ones. Any suggestions?
Hi! I just " harvested" a 1968 430 head and all the exhaust studs broke but 1. I used a bridgeport mill and a 5/16 end mill , eyeballed the location and out they came. I don't recomend doing it on the car as the other head someone else had a go at it and the drill wandered and ruined the other head! But these studs Im sure were original from 1968 really rusted in bad! Good luck!
I took both of mine off yesterday, I was suspecting a crack or broken gasket. This ticking noise was coming from the driver's side, and of course it had to be a crack I just sprayed some WD40 on the bolts and took it easy, they came out one by one. I had this big torque wrench, so I could feel when I needed to be more careful with a stuborn bolt. I would tap around it lightly with a hammer and flat head to just send some vibrations in to the area and maybe losen it up a bit. I also noticed that one of the studs were missing from where the exhaust connects, it had been replaced by a bolt. It just seemed like they had drilled out the broken stud piece and then put a bolt in the hole instead. Worked fine, I'd probably try to do something like that if it happened to me. Try to get access to one of those mounted drills that just go up and down. Lock down the manifold and carefully drill it out. Stick a bolt in there and you'd be all set.
Must be nice living in California!! In PA when it comes to removing bolts from old cars, everything is a chore. Even if its covered up, the condensation from our rapid temp changes will rust it up. Heat is our friend around here. Get the oxy-acetaline torch and have at 'er. Don't spend too much time in one spot or you'll dig a hole. Put the vice-grips on the bolt and see if it'll move. If it doesn't more heat. Sometimes you'll get bolts that won't go for anything. Those are the one's you drill out and re-tap, or take them to the machine shop (I broke it, please fix it).
The ole "gas axe" Yes, the smoke wrench is our friend! I used lockwashers on mine and never had a problem.
Why fix them when I will sell you Exhaust manifolds $40 a pair plus shipping. Thanks Mike carcrazy455@yahoo.com
Broken Exhaust manifold bolts If they are broken in head. Machine shop is best. If bolts are broken off at exhaust pipe mount, take manifold off heat red hot around bolt then throw in bucket of water. Works for any broken bolts in cast iron. Bernie Steffen zstef@mchsi.com
Theres no chance of cracking your engine block. But it does take a little experience to use a torch. If your unfamiliar or lack experience PLEASE take it to someone who's familiar with handing a torch. If your not careful and dont move the flame around, you could melt something you didnt intend to. You also have to be cognicent of whats in the immediate area around you and under the hood. Ive seen more than my share of shop fires. So be careful!!!!
