i want to know. How long did it take yall to replace the donut ring inthe exhaust pipe from the exhaust manifold? I can see one of the bolts, but the other one i cant see. I dont know if i should go about getting at it from the bottom or the top? i got new bolt studs and srings. and the metal donut ring. So if any of you guys have done this can you give me some pointers? thanks

 

get some pb blaster and soak the ever loving crap out of the bolts before you goto change in. I haven't done it personally so I dunno how long it takes or how to go about it but PB blaster, helps like crazy when things are rusted. and stuck as I'm sure any bolt on the exhaust will be.

 

Definitely soak it with PB or a good rust penetrant before trying to loosen them. If you don't, you take a much greater risk of breaking one of the studs; big pain in the neck. It won't take too long, but you will need to jack the front end up and safely support it with jackstands. You will need a 15mm socket (I think) and several long extensions. An impact wrench is handy too.

 

Springs? I didn't have any springs on my y-pipe-to-manifold bolts; do you guys have springs on your cars?

When I replaced my y-pipe, I soaked those nuts for about a week in liquid wrench. After I'd get home for the night, I'd pop the hood and spray the crap outta them, to let them sit overnight. It makes no real sense to spray them when the exhaust is hot; not only is it a fire hazard (flammable), but the stuff will evaporate right away and won't do anything. Also you might be breathing in that steam when it evaporates.

Note what Aaron said about a 15 mm socket; don't use a standard 9/16th socket or you could strip out the nuts.

Also you might want to invest in a long 1/2-inch-drive extension instead of the skinny 3/8th inch extension (like are in socket sets). The thicker extension resists "twisting up" and you'll put more of your strength to the nut. The thin 3/8th-inch-drive extensions (like in the socket set) will actually twist, and you'll feel it at your end, because when you try to loosen the nuts, the socket handle will feel "springy" instead of solid!

I learned this when I removed my tranny; I had a lonnnng extension (3/8th inch drive) and spent hours trying to break the engine-to-trans bolts free. I only broke two free- and when they broke free, they sounded like they exploded. My dad suggested a 1/2inch-drive extension, we drove to sears to get one- I had the other 4 bolts out in about a half hour, and they came out super-easy.

You might be able to get away with just loosening one nut per side and see if you can wedge the donut out...

Did you lose one, or did it crack?