Ok, allow me to tell my little story about my easter break...

Last Wednesday (March 27) I dropped my car off at my mechanics to have him fix my exhaust leaks all around the heads and y-pipe.

Thursday I went to pick it up and he said basically "listen, if any of these bolts snap when I'm taking them out... I don't have a drill that can get in there to drill them out. The one I got is in the shop getting new bearings put in it and I won't have it until Monday or Tuesday. Take it back and soak the bolts in liquid penetrant over the weekend and come back"

So I left...

Saturday I took my car to a local muffler shop. I had them put on a V-Force muffler with my 3.5 inch chrome tips... fully welded! It sounds and looks amazing. 150 cash did the trick.

Tuesday I went back to the mechanics, bolts still won't turn freely.

Wednesday I dropped my car off to have this crap taken care of.

Called Thursday... He got some bolts off, he drilled out others, until he got to the number 5 cylinder... Someone had been in there before, snapped bolts off all over and back here they must have gotten creative and used hardening epoxy in some way shape or form. It took him 6 drill bits to get through it... There was also evedence of someone taking a torch to the head to loosen the bolts (metal discoloration... scary on heads...). Call back that night...

Call Thurday night around 9.. no way I can pick it up that night... all the bolts are operative... he just has to put the y-pipe back in and put the starter back on, move the AC stuff back and make sure everything is kosher. Call Friday morning around 10...

So it's now 9:50... I'm going to give him a call soon..

All this was supposed to cost 150, worst case scenario... due to the circumstances it's now looking like 200... I don't care though, he's been nice, treated me right, and the whole epoxy thing was very unexpected on both our parts...

I'm looking forward to getting my car back and actually having it pull hard now... rather than have it just hiss at me...

Fun story, 'eh?

Oh man...I think I might have an exhaust manifold gasket leak too.

Chances are, it will not be as troublesome as this has been for me...

From the factory these cars did -not- get exhaust manifold gaskets, if your car has 'em someone has been in there before. However they make aftermarket gaskets you can use... I'm getting a set put in my ride...

Here is what makes 'em leak... after a while the manifold to head contact can warp and distort a little causing the leak... you could get them surfaced but thats big $$... so you throw a gasket on there and problem solved... Just make sure you don't have a clogged up exhaust or you run into that ever-so-familiar V8 problem of busting gaskets... thats not fun...

Fun stuff guys... fun stuff...

For some BS reason these motors crack exhaust manifold bolts for fun. My 3.1L broke 3 bolts. I managed to fix one.

The 3.4 I bought had 1 broken bolt. They use $hitty bolts and the manifolds warp. There are aftermarket gaskets....though they semi-block the spark plug wires. I'd recommend putting the gasket on, then cutting the links off: O ------O------ O
The RED part being the links.

CaliCamaroRS hit it right on.

I'm looking forward to some now...

good job on the exaust and good luck with the gasket situation, should solve all your "sealing" issues. and there's nothing better than a fully operating engine......wish mine was. lol. But i still got ya beat on the exaust work....100 bux covered my flowmaster, 2.5in intermediate pipe w/ 2.5in. tail pipes, all work done in clamps to be changed out at will, but the tips are fully welded on as well.....new pipes, new muffler, new tips, 100bux....good to have a buddy.

The exhaust manifold bolts on our cars blow big time. I bought my 90 bird a few years ago from a local dealer. He was honest and said that the manifolds were leaking becuase several bolts were snapped. so he said he used some of that liquid seal stuff and that will be fine. RIIIIGGHT!! Me and my dad gave him hard time got him to warranty the manifolds for a year. sure enough, after about 60 days the passenger side was leaking like a bee-atch. So he drilled out the borken bolts and replaced them with new ones all for free!!! but quess what, i can hear the ticking again and it pisses me off more than anything. its not affecting performance what so ever, but its one of those things that annoys the heck outta ya. And I know its a PITA to fix. G/L Xenodrgn, hope it all works out for ya. Sorry I had to vent.

Be careful when ever you are futzing with our manifold bolts.

Thanks 85f-bird! And awesome deal on the exhaust. It is certainly nice to know somebody.

My car is done by the way... I'm going out in a few minutes to get it...

The job by the book is 150 minus tax and parts, he tacked on another hour (50 bucks) because of the added work, and then charged me for supplies... nuts, bolts, an oil filter, gaskets, and drill bits... the total comes to 248... A bit steep, but if he charged me total labor in full, that alone would have been 400$. He treats me good. I can't wait to drive it and tell you all about it!

Ya know, I've come across broken 2.8 manifold bolts 3 or 4 times. If it was snapped even with the head, no luck. But if the bolt snapped off mid-way, and there was something left sticking out of the head, I was able to remove it with vise grips. I think the head is the piece that snaps, due to stress, or, if you're trying to loosen the bolt, the head of the bolt might rust to the manifold.

So if you remove your manifolds, and see a "stud" that was once a "bolt", try spraying some liquid wrench on it, and using some vise grips. Tip- tap the visegrips with a hammer. This simulates a garage's air powered impact wrench, and will do more to loosen the bolt than a constant pulllllling will.

I got it back, and it still leaks like a bitch... I'm so ****ing furious right now... I have to work all weekend and I don't know when I'll be able to have it fixed (again)...

I'll bet he didn't actually drive the car... just listened in the car... In my situation, you have to actually apply load to the car and you get a pulsing HHHIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS... sometimes pulsing sometimes steady when you accelerate. I don't think the manifolds are leaking though... I'll bet he dropped the y-pipe and manifolds all as one peice, I'll bet it's leaking right where the manifold attaches to the y-pipe... ooooooo I'll bet you I'm right... SOAB!!!