Well my exhaust manifolds (i think thats what they are, lol) are leaking exhaust (obviously) when my car is actually running. So what i have decided to do is take them off and put on some block-offs. The only problem is i cant get the darn things off. I am getting close to stripping one bolt so before i do that i should prolly take a step back and see what else i can do. Any certain way i should attack the problem? Ive used WD-40 already. Oh and of course i have a sbc 350 from a '79 Impala. I just got an iron intake and i am trying to do this whole thing in a one shot deal. Also i dont know if this is related to the exhaust manifolds but when i started my car the other day i had a huge cloud of exhaust that was filling my whole driveway, it was pretty bad. Any ideas what can cause that? Help is always appreciated, thanks.

Syxx

 

im not sure what your talkin about here.. blocking off your exhaust manifolds would make your car completely unable to start and makes no sense.. umm describe the part your talkin about.. as far as the smoke what color was it? that would be a good indication as to what your problem was..

 

Well the smoke was a light color. Just like regular exhaust i guess. It was light grey in color i would say, which i see as normal, there was just a LOT of it. I think i may have messed up there on tryin to explain what im tryin to take off, lol. Ok... i think it was for the air cleaner that was supposed to be on the carbed cars, which mine is. It is right under the valve covers on both sides on the engine. They have little pipes that come up, lol i dunno im tryin to explain it. Ill look for a picture. If u need me to.

 

no sounds like your talkin about the exhaust manifolds.. the little metal tubes your refering to are part of the A.I.R. system.. are they what you are trying to remove/blockoff? i see above that you got rid of part of the system..

 

Aha! Yes thats what it is. They arent even connected, they are already blocked off where they should be releasing the fumes or w/e. And on the right side it lets smoke seep threw. Since they arent working and i dont even have my smog pump on, i didnt think i needed it. Im not even using the stock air cleaner, just one that you can get from Autozone. But yeah i am tryin to take the whole thing off, not just the tubes. Are we on the same page now? i hope so cuz im all over the place, sorry man.

 

yup perfectly clear now.. know exactly what ya mean.. unfortunetly though i have never attempted to do it.. i just opted for headers since i gottem for free.. i remember following a thread on here a while back where someone was doin the same exact thing.. try searchin for removing a.i.r. tubes or somethin to the like.. i will try also.. if i find it i'll post ya a link

 

plug them with 1/4 inch cast iron plugs

make sure you are using the exact size socket u need. i have metric and the other kind i dunno what they r called im dumb. but sometimes i grab what appears to fit then it starts to strip. i do it all the time. if u get the right size on, spray a bit of wd40 on it, then put a small pole on the end of ur ratchet. and u should have no problems getting them off.

 

yep beat me 2 it.. from what i read it seems that 1/4th inch pipe plugs from your local hardware store are the best solution to pluggin em off.. as suggested go with iron as i have heard brass can melt over time.. as far as removal of the tubes themselves fine a good rust penetrant and soak em down real good.. also a small propane torch may help loosen em up.. can get one from your local hardware store or autosupply store for about 15 bucks or less.. dunno what size wrench ya need.. if ya accidently round em off just attack em with some vice grips.. after all your not gonna be usin em again ne way.. good luck!

 

jus use visegrips fromt he get go. i spryed mine down so good then used a open end wrench and it deformed the **** out of the bolts. just use a vicegrip

 

lol vicegrips all the way! i have about 25k in expensive snap on tools.. everytime i run into a situation such as yours (small things like air tubs, brake lines, anything small rusty that likes to round off even when using flare wrenchs) my $10 vice grips save my *** everytime! much praise to the man who invented the damn things! :hail:

 

Wow i hope i did this right, lol. I am kind of in the middle, but does anyone have any pics of theirs after they did this?

 

anyone?

 

does anyone at all have pics? I have taken off the part with the tubes but do i need to take off the whole exhaust manifold thats connected to my exhaust pipe?