1982 GL Wagon exhaust issues. Halp!

[scoot_loops]

Hey guys, im new to this forum, as well as fairly new to the subie cars.

 

Im a college student, and a bought a 1982 GL wagon off of CL since my last car died. It was 625 bucks, 191k miles, some rust, and some minor maitenance needs to be done.

 

I fixed some small issues but this one issue is really buggin me and i don't think i have the right tools, or i might be missing a step, or the problem may be worse than i thought. But it has to do with the drivers side exhaust header bolts.

 

I've already checked another post out here that helped out in the beginning, gave me the bolt sizes, type of studs, and a way to tap them.

 

Anyways, ill start from the beginning.

 

The wagon sounds like a cross between a motocycle and a lawn mower. So, i was looking around underneath the engine and checking the exhaust line to see where the problem might lie. I found that one of the stud bolts on the drivers side exhause was missing, and the other stud bolt on that side was barely hangin on.  Whomever worked on it before me has also added another bolt to a stud hole as kind of a "clamp" if you will for the exhaust pipe. 

 

After checking around here, i found out what i "should" be able to do to reseal the gasket and the stud bolts.

 

There wasn't much room between the bolts and the exhaust pipe to getting my tools in there and trying to retap the thread was rather difficult, but the first time around, i managed to get a stud bolt in on on of the missing spots, and it held fairly well for about two weeks. The bolt that i had installed fell out again and now the car is back to its loud, exhaust-smelling state.

 

So that's where i am now. I tried getting the bolt back in, but every time i tighten it up, it looses its grip and pops out. Which leads me to believe that it is stripped pretty bad. The other exhaust bolt i can't even to into to tap without removing the 'Y' pipes. and if i just stick the tap bit into that one it feels like its been shredded so bad that the tap doesn't even have anything to dig into. I fear that this is the case with BOTH stud holes now.

 

So any suggestions on the tap? should i get slightly larger bolt and totally retap with a bigger pitch?

 

Also, i haven't seen a thread yet, but if i need to remove the Y-pipes to get some more room, how would i go about doing so? i can see all the bolts, but i want to make sure im not missing something, and i also need to know if i have to remove the entire pipeline system, which may be a little out of my skill level.

 

Thanks guys!

 

 

 

[mikaleda]

Heli-coil or timeserts get a kit and you drill the hole out bigger and put new threads in this way you can use the same size stud as before.

[mikaleda]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002KKPXK/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1367189457&sr=1-1&pi=SL75

This is just an example you will need to get the right size and thread pitch.

[mikaleda]

Oh and remove the y-pipe when doing this, you won't be able to do it right other wise.

 

Y-pipe removal is fairly straightforward just the nuts on the bottom of the head and the connection after the cattilitic converter oh and there is a hanger near the cat. End one bolt that's it.

it wouldn't hurt to change the gaskets while your there just for peace of mind.

Edited April 28, 2013 by mikaleda

[scoot_loops]

sweet, thanks! ill give it a try when i get some heli-coils.

[mikaleda]

Yep, I'm sure it'll hold, I've heard of people fixing spark plug holes with these and not having a problem. These bolts won't have that much pressure on them.