I'm probably going to be fixing my exhaust up a little, and I was wondering if anyone has any pointers for getting those lovely flange bolts loose...PB Blaster? Hammer and chisel? Dynamite? Damn rust....any advice?

 

i would just try some wd 40 first who knows might work or a hell of a lot of arm torque should do it

 

Be VERY careful with that... exhaust manifold bolts rust into the heads really bad and get very tight sometimes, and the heat is murder on them. It is VERY easy to snap the bolt off in the head doing this. Ive done it before.

Use lots and lots on penetrating oil first, not WD40, but a good penetrating oil. Then try to loosen them out.

 

best penetrating oil i think is PB blast. soak them down, and let it sit and do it again. use a good breaker bar so the joint on it doesnt snap

 

warm the car up a little so it loosens everything up a little , but then you gotta wear some gloves so you done burn your hands.

 

that was what i was thinking, warm it up and use the penetrator oil and you should be able to get them, go slow trying to back them out and if they just dont feel right stop and check them

 

couldnt he do all of that and also put a socket over the bolt and give it a couple of good wacks with a hammer?

 

Yes, but if the bolts are stuck in there good, and you hit it hard enough, snap.....


When I removed my manifold bolts, I let them soak in PB blaster for about 24 hours. Then when I went to remove them, I slowly applied more and more torque until they broke loose. I did not want want to just start ripping on them fearing a bolt would snap.

 

spray them with pb blast....let it soak in over night...spray them again and try to move them..warming up the car will also help..

and you can try to shock them with a hammer on the breaker bar if your feeling lucky..its an easy way to snap the bolts right off..

 

I too reccomend PB blaster. It is awesome stuff. Soak down the bolts days prior. I mean soak them to the point where you have the stuff driping all over your floor/driveway. WD40 doesn't even come close for this type of use.

 

I soaked mine for two or three days with PB blaster before I took them off. I would get home from work and spray them down good before I went in the house. Everything I srayed down came loose easily.

 

yeah, wd40 is weak sauce compared to PB blaster LOL never had a problem getting any bolts off with pb blaster. including some rough suspension pieces


i also thought of possibly heating up the motor for a bit to heat the bolts. that thermal expansion and pb blaster should eat right thru rust and break them loose. but watch out for those headers when hot. it dont take much to burn your skin LOL

 

Yep, soak it down with PB blaster. I soaked mine for 2 days before even trying. Then get a breaker bar and slowly apply torque. If it doesn't move, PB blaster some more, turn on the car enough to get the heads warm a bit, and try again.