June 24, 200619 yr Thanks to the help given me on this fabulous board, I've been able to diagnoss diagnose that my 89 GL Soob Sedan (nonturbo) has an exhaust leak. I've ordered exhaust manifold gasket from Schucks today but I'd like to have some tips/precautionary advice about the repair. I've been told that the simple repair can become a PIA because of stipping/breakage of studs/bolts. I got some PB Blaster. Advice? THANKS
June 24, 200619 yr I don't think you're going to strip anything. But just make sure you are turning the wrench the right way;). (My friend did that, we had to drill and tap larger studs in). I've had luck with an impact...if you don't have an impact, just use a socket wrench with appropiate socket (should be 14mm sometimes 17mm) and if they are real hard, use an extension like a pipe or tube. Hopefully they gave you the right gasket. I've never had luck with auto parts stores and exhaust gaskets, they usually give me the gasket that goes at the end of the Y pipe. Good Luck, keep us updated on how it goes! -Justin
June 24, 200619 yr Probably 2 out of 10 of those studs will strip out - that's been about my odds on it anyway. 8 out of 10 of the things will unscrew the stud out of the head rather than the nut. There's really not much you can do - if they are going to strip they will. If they do, get a 7/16"x20 tap and tap it to the next STD size. The tap will thread in with an adjustable wrench without drilling. Then you can use bolt and lock washer. Works great. GD
June 24, 200619 yr if your worried about about stripping.. spray the nuts with pb and let sit over night.. should be good to go by the next day.. ive had to spray and respray before, but that depends on how bad they are to begin with.. should be easier to undo when the motors stone cold due to heat expansion.. 2 cents rllywgn
June 24, 200619 yr if your worried about about stripping.. spray the nuts with pb and let sit over night.. should be good to go by the next day.. ive had to spray and respray before, but that depends on how bad they are to begin with.. should be easier to undo when the motors stone cold due to heat expansion.. 2 cents rllywgn They strip the AL in the head - and they always strip when you are tightening them, not taking them out. No amount of PB blaster is going to help the situation. It's just from years of the exhaust being dropped for various repairs - the AL gets stressed and fails. GD
June 24, 200619 yr i guess i should have worded that different.. my past experience is the stud does come out with the nut when removing the exhaust.. pb should help this from doing so.. i misplaced my haynes.. but, is there an actual torque rating which should be applied when retightening? rllywgn
June 24, 200619 yr DO NOT USE IMPACT TOOLS when removing the exhaust studs. that will cause the threads to strip in the head.
June 24, 200619 yr My Haynes says 15-25 ft/lb, my Chilton says 19-22 ft/lb. If the stud holes strip, get m10 1.25 Helicoil. SAE has no place on a metric vehicle. Has caused me problems cuz I had to dig up my SAE tools when I should only have to use metric.
June 25, 200619 yr My Haynes says 15-25 ft/lb, my Chilton says 19-22 ft/lb. If the stud holes strip, get m10 1.25 Helicoil. SAE has no place on a metric vehicle. Has caused me problems cuz I had to dig up my SAE tools when I should only have to use metric. Weak - a good mechanic is prepared for all potenialities. Heli-coil kit = $50, or $30 for a cheap knock off. SAE tap = $10 and can be re-used to fix the same problem over and over. It has the added advantage that the larger threads don't strip anymore, and hold much tighter. Plus you can use a SS bolt, and never worry about rust again. GD
June 25, 200619 yr No reason to worry about it. Most likely, if you have any problem at all, it will be the studs coming out when you remove the nuts, and it's not hard to get them back in. Don't overtighten, and it probably won't strip out. If it does, just tap it like General Disorder said to do.
June 25, 200619 yr and it never hurts to use some ultra copper on the gasket when you put it back in.
June 25, 200619 yr Ultra copper is Permatex gasket sealant I believe. If you use the paper gaskets, soak them in water for an hour, they seal great for a long time (in my experience). But it's not as good as oem metal gaskets.
June 25, 200619 yr If you intend to keep the vehicle for a while insert it with the M10x1.25 thread. Use a timesert they're much better than any helicoil. I for one hate working on cars that are 1/2 SAE and 1/2 metric and sticking with M10x1.25 keeps the whole car metric. Tapping up to the next SAE size doesnt mean it wont happen at that size...it just means eventually you are going to run out of metal to tap up to.
June 25, 200619 yr Tapping up to the next SAE size doesnt mean it wont happen at that size...it just means eventually you are going to run out of metal to tap up to. True - but I think that a timesert or heli-coil is still possible after tapping to 7/16"x20 as that size happens to not require any drilling. Could still drill and tap for a heli-coil type repair later if you like. I do the SAE tap cause it's cheap. All thing being equal I would go with the timesert, but they are expensive and not always handily availible. Heli-coils are usually reasonably easy to find (some places don't carry much in metric I've noticed), but can be expensive for some of us. SAE: A few cents for a bolt and lock washer, and I already have the tap ($6 I think from NAPA). Just offering my out-of-the-box solution (as usual ). As always tho - many ways to accomplish, each with it's own side-effects either on the car or you wallet GD
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now