Exhaust manifold to downpipe studs on RRC

I have finally obtained a replacement for the (blown) gasket between the exhaust manifold and downpipe on my 1990 RRC 3.9.

Can I replace the gasket without removing great junks of the exhaust system? If not, what are the chances of the studs coming out when I undo the nuts rather than remaining in situ.

One of the studs appears to be lose already, but (how) can I encourage the other two to follow suit?

Studs miss-behaving seems to be a popular line of discussion in the NG!

TIA

Richad

Reply to
Richard
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On or around Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:55:57 +0100, Richard enlightened us thusly:

bugger all if you want 'em to...

you can't, really. They're just as likely to shear off. You ought to be able to unhoook the exahust enough to get it down the inch or so you need to put the gasket in. Failing that I'd loosen the joint after the Y pipe, before the silencer. It shouldn't have cats, which helps matters.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

Hi Austin

I feared that the studs would do exactly the opposite of what I want - perhaps I should approach with a strong hope that they stay fixed :-)

Indeed no CATs - thank goodness.

Did you sort your central locking on the tailgate? My RRC has (actually had) a dreadful - and therefore factory fitted - Heath Robinson affair of solenoid and homemade bracket which was intended to operate the lock. IIRC it could be disabled by turning the key past the normal locking position. As the side catches now operate entirely at their own whim, central locking of the tailgate is way down my list of priorities. I didn't post this to your thread as I assumed that you had sorted it by the time I saw the thread.

Cheers

Richard

Reply to
Richard

Remove the manifolds, studs should come out with a good pair of mole grips and a little help from some heat if they start to offer any resistance. They wear out anyway which is why your nuts were slack.

I've had a blow on the Disco and RRC's all due to worn studs. they really are a weak link in the system.

Re the side catches, are these the ones on the top tailgate? If so they operate of there own accord for a several reasons I have found. Firstly they become worn in themselves and usually require replacement. I found this out after much faffing about. Excessive flex in a rotten tailgate also doesn't help much either. It's also worth checking where the rods run through the steel frame as this area also become fouled with rot and crud which helps jam the rods in the open position. Memories!

:-)

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

Hi Lee

Remove the exhaust manifold! That feels a little adventurous to me. Or is that not the case?

I will, however, try gentle i.e. Rothenberger heat on the maifold to downpipe studs.

Side catches: yep, top tailgate and yes it is slowly returning to it's original mineral sources! Periodically I adjust the operating rods, squirt a little magic juice into the mechanisms and use up a little more of my dwindling stock of RRC sense of humour.

Cheers

Richadr

Reply to
Richard

IF you ever feel flush I can recommend the alloy replacement tailgates and a pair of new catches. It changed my RRC experience and also reduced the chances of my then 2 Alsations going for a 50mph rapid deployment.

Manifolds are ok but double jointed wrists help..... theres always the possibility of snapping a bolt in the block and getting the manifolds back on with the gaskets is also great fun NOT... if you do go down this route though you can get gaskets which consist of 2 per side sort of joined in pairs rather than four individual ones per side... get the paired up ones and tape them to the manifold with masking tape before installation... all will become apparent if you do explore this option. On reassembly get all the bolts finger tight before the final tightening otherwise theres always one that will cross thread if the manifold is uneaven. Yep I have the T-shirt :-) Compared to doing them on a 101 it's a doddle!

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

and dont forget the RRC owners patented method of closing the tailgate never push it down in the centre or use the handle always use two hands at the outer edges that prevents the tailgate flexing and making the problem worse. I miss my RRC Peggy! Derek Disco 200Tdi Kato Disco 300Tdi Miles

Reply to
Derek

Indeed. Always amusing to watch it done when the perpetrator has both hands full and something under one or both arms, oh and it will be raining too.

Richatrd ;-)

Reply to
Richard

On or around Thu, 7 Aug 2008 21:38:20 +0100, "Derek" enlightened us thusly:

Mine just shuts

Mind, I doubt it'll last. And to compensate, it's a manual-locking tailgate, which means you have to remember to lock it.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

"Austin Shackles" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Ah yes.. the other rather cunning trick they do is that the spring behind the button disintergrates... so you have to lock it before closing to stop it opening it's self when you close it firmly... bit of an ever decreasing circle with all the other issues.

crap design!

Lee D

Reply to
Lee_D

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