New Trick - Stubborn Exhaust Manifolds

this begs the question...... you had the manifolds off and you didn't put headers on?????? I'm so very disappointed ;-)

-Bret

The thought crossed my mind BIG TIME but I needed it back on the road for Monday. I wasn't planning to pull the manifolds; if this had of been premeditated she'd have a set of Tork-Step's on there right now.

She's getting a nasty 383 this summer and headers are on the menu.

Doc

>

Here's a trick for getting the studs out after you twist one or more off...............but this only works with the transmission out (since I've gotta drop the left side to get the crossover to clear the flywheel cover on

700's and 60E's I've gotten pretty good at judging which will come out and which to just say 'screw it' and take the whole works down and do 'em all)

With an angle grinder, grind the remains flush with the manifold

ACCURATELY center-punch the old stud (VERY ACCURATELY !!!! )

drill out with a 1/4" bit

enlarge with a letter 'S' bit (I think its 0.398")

then run your tap thru it

the 'S' bit cleans out all except what's in the internal threads, and the tap takes 'em out

with sharp bits and a good tap (with a pair of 7/16 nuts screwed down over the square end and tacked tight) it takes about a half-hour

of course, the usual cautions about reversing the tap every 1/4 turn or so apply........the 'curlies' that come out of the threads will jam it up pretty fast, and if you break it off in there, you're pretty much FUBAR'd

Hey Doc,

They actually make a tool for this one - I remember seein a guy at the shop I used to work at use it....it's similar to a turnbuckle (for tightening up cable and such), just very small and instead of eyes on both sides, it's got notched bolts....you put it in and spread it apart to push the manifold holes to line up, and just bolt everything up at once.....

They 'shrink' because of the heat that they're subjected to - engines that have overheated are worse than normal, so be glad you weren't in that boat... ;-)

BTW - that ugly beast is gonna be gettin a new set of ARE Series 23's next week or so - found a hookup and am gettin a brand new set for $340 (15x10 6 hole on 5.5"), and the guy at NTB's gonna give me a break on a pair of

33x12.5R15 BFG AT/TAko's.....120 each..... :-D

Happy wrenching!

Jeremy

""Doc"" wrote

I know the feeling. I finally just went and bought two of the manifold spreading tools that Jeremy mentioned. Even Snap-On sells them for only 10 dollars each. They work like a charm.

Ian

musta been a mis-print in the price list.................

"TransSurgeon" wrote

I was amazed...and grabbed two of them.

Ian

They seem to work best if you install them before removing the manifold. It takes a LOT of pressure to spread them once they are unbolted. Bob

You won't find much on a Snap On truck in the $10 range. New handle Gary? Bob

yeah

lost pretty much everything on the 'C' drive last week......massive 'bad sector' errors

so started from scratch

G

One of the drawbacks of not being a professional mechanic and having never worked in an automotive shop, and not having any friends who are wrenches..................I'm not up-to-speed on all the specialty tools available. I'm gunna look for a few of those spreaders and pitch my "tool", he he he he. Thanks for the info guys!

Doc

Any of you guys have a hyperlink to a site with pictures this doo-hickey? I'm having trouble picturing it in my head..................must be from all the PB Blaster fumes I inhaled today.

Doc

Aww Man, I hate when that happens. But like the PC tech says, Backups, backups, backups. We all should, we all know it, few of us do.

If you replaced the drive, I may be able to save your data. If you are interested, go to the website and hit the reply at the bottom of the main page and give me your particulars. I would be more than happy to take a look no charge. You guys have helped me, happy to pass it forward. JR

Is this the Snap-on tool?

Took a little looking but I found it...

I had the same problem when I installed rebuilt heads on my '94 Z71 w/350 a couple years ago. What I did was throw the manifolds (one at a time) into the kitchen oven and heat 'em up for awhile, grab some welding gloves, and run them to the truck as fast as I could. Don't worry, the smell in the oven only lasts a little while (lol). I knew there was probably some specialty tool out there, but I was pressed for time. The first went on with no problem. The second one I had to heat up twice, but it worked...

Ladude

Thought I'd share my newest brain fart with all of you lest it may help someone in the future.

We've all been there. Yank an exhaust manifold for some reason or another and damned if it'll go back on, the holes on one far-side of the manifold never line up; you can always get 4 bolts in without a problem, but the last two are always off by 1/8" or so. I used to just heat up the manifold with a torch, then burn the piss out of my hands while working with a 400* manifold trying to get it back on.

Had to replace both donut gaskets today on my 88' C1500 and had to pull both manifolds to get the old flange studs out. Neither manifold would line back up when I went to put it back on. Didn't feel like screwing around with my torch. So, using a die grinder I "notched" an exhaust manifold bolt about

1/8" on the un-threaded part of the shaft. I then put the manifold in place, screwed this bolt in 4 turns into the frontmost hole with the notched side of the bolt facing the front of the truck. This gave me enough play to get the rest of the bolts in, working from back to front, replacing the notched bolt last with a new bolt. Did it on the other side as well and it worked like a charm. Saved time, pain, and it now has a place of honor in my toolbox for the next time I need it.

Maybe I should make a whole bunch and sell em' on E-Bay for $2.00? ;-)

Doc

============== Awesome idea Doc. the making and selling part :)

Yup, that's it.

The YA part number means it's from an outside vendor and odds are it is the exact same Lisle tool that Ian posted.

Bummer.

I like the new handle though...

But then a few of the other local shops have taken to nick naming me "the doctor," though it could be because I spend so much time in hospitals (no, not -that- type). ;-)

"The Doctor" (who's enjoying the new stents that were installed in his leg arteries a week ago).