Technical Stuck exhaust manifold bolt…

pen·i·tent ADJECTIVE feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant
pen·e·trant NOUN a substance that can penetrate cracks, pores, and other surface defect

Yeah, I'm going to laugh...

 

I always flunked english.

 

Andy, in this case it fit perfectly. Glad you took it as intended. If we can't laugh at ourselves...

BTW, my roommate is from Kerrville, and has shared with me stories of the town, it's residents and the general area.
And now it's 4 pages!

 

had that problem with a ford 6 once and was lucky enough to drill the bolt and run a tap...

 

I’m back, after Covid I was dealing with back issues and doing numerous doctor, orthopedist, and physical therapy. I’m not here to complain, most of the guys on this site are around my age (72) and dealing with their own issues. The good news is that I got out to the shop today and got the manifold off! I ended up cutting the head off the bolt and wiggling the manifold off. I haven’t been able to get the bolt out of the head. I’ve tried heating the bolt with my “map” gas torch,(I don’t have access to acetylene) tried a good penetrating oil and gently working it back and forth with vise grips. No luck. I don’t want to break it off in the head or even weaken it.
My latest “dumb ***” idea is to cut it off at the end of the threads, (about 3/4” showing) and using it for a “stud”. I’m installing block hugger headers and the flange is pretty thin.
This will never be a “show car”, just want a reliable driver.
Whaddya think?

 

I know these are $75 , but it can produce the heat you need . I have on I bought years ago , used it when I didn't want to drag my torch & cart ( junkyard trips etc) saved time & money !

 

Right way - Find a guy that can weld on a nut. Keep working it. MD is part of the rust belt, right? There has got to be a number of experienced rusty bolt experts.
Get it back on the road - at 72, you may never have to touch it again. Leave that for the next guy...
What do I think?

 

A MIG welder (the machine not the operator) finds the easiest path to ground so when welding a nut on a stud it can be hard to penetrate the stud and not just have the MIG arc to the nut which won't hold. I have found that cutting the nut in half with my band saw makes it thin enough to accurately penetrate the stud and then secure the nut.

Wait for the red hot heat to cool, but while it is warm rock the nut back and forth with a breaker bar. If the head was off I would use the heat I just created to melt some wax down the threads but in the car that won't work (gravity is a *****).

It will come out with the proper persuasion AND the proper tools.

 

MAP gas might do it, but when you think you have it hot enough, continue heating for 2 or 3 minutes more. While it is cooling, gently try to move the stud. If it doesn't want to move, let it cool completely (go do something else). When it is completely cooled, repeat the process. Without having an acetylene torch you will have to do this multiple times. The acetylene torch will let you heat the stud much quicker than the head heats which will break the rust locking the threads.

 

One and done. If I ever pull the engine, or just pull the head, I will fix it properly. This will seal just fine, and I can move on to bigger and better things…
Thanks for the proper advice. I would like to put the manifolds on with studs, but all I can seem to find are bolts (which I have a new set) as it makes it much easier to install the gaskets…

 

Do you not have a hacksaw ? Cut the heads off some cheap or old bolts , thread them in a couple threads , then pull them as you install .... Using a one piece gasket makes installation easier .

 

I guess I could cut them from a piece of “all thread”…

 

Some sharp raps on the end with a hammer should help, now.

Gary

 

That, and stop heating the bolt, and heat the head around it then quench with penetrating oil until it stops smoking. After that it should damn near come out by itself... Just STOP heating the bolt!

 

I think that will work. You are thinking of just putting a nut on your threaded "stud"... Sure why not- I think that would be fine.

 

With a 1/4 - 3/8 inch thick flange on your block huggers, your improvised stud should work fine. ***uming you have clearance for a std size nut. Sometimes headers need the special smaller head bolts. Or in your case might need a smaller hex nut.

 

I like the stud idea, like others suggest, gotta piss off the next caretaker somehow

 

Along with

I checked this morning, and I do have room for a full sized nut and lock washer. A little surprising, as I’ve installed headers in the past where this would have been a problem…

 

Oxy- mapp. , 5000° isn't hot enough ???

 

Sorry, I’m on a fixed income, and spending close to $100 (with cylinders) to remove one bolt isn’t in the cards. I need to spend my money (that the wife a-lots me) on the rest of the exhaust system. Up until now, I haven’t run into one that I couldn’t eventually remove…
Like I said, if I eventually pull the engine or pull the head, and have better access, I will get it out…

 

Not sure if this has been mentioned but the blue wire off the starter is not looking good.

 

The entire wiring harness will be replaced, along with all new brakes, and exhaust system. I am going to try and wire brush the paint on the block before I install the headers. Seems like the original builder of this car sprayed blue paint right over the grease and rust…

 

That “stud” looks to be serviceable. Time to nut it and move on!! Good times ahead !

 

Nice work around!

 

Get a cutoff wheel in there and cut the bolt head off and go from there

 

The original post appears to be a few weeks ago but I just came across it because somebody else posted on it.
I have done a lot of engines in my 30+ years of screwing around with them and just like the three pages before me I have opinions.
My recommendation since the bolt head is rounded off is first try a bolt head extractor (If You have not done that already). I took a screenshot of it for the Lowe's website showing what I am talking about
. Don't buy the cheap Pittsburgh ones from Harbor Freight I don't think they are hard enough steel from my experience They don't really grab like the Irwins or the tool truck brands, Now that being said Harbor freight's quality supposedly has really went up in the last few years but I don't shop there anymore because I got tired of breaking my knuckles and I don't want to try them again I would rather buy American given the choice or a chance but that's another story.
Anyways those bolt extractors are awesome I would highly recommend them for your toolbox You may not use them but every year or two but every time you do you won't be mad that you spent 30 or 40 bucks for a quality bolt extractor.
Next thing I would try if that doesn't work is welding a nut to the head of that bolt It may take three four maybe even five attempts but that will give you something new to put a wrench or socket on plus the extreme heat from welding should help heat shock the bolt loose, usually a welder will make that bolt glow red And that should be enough to free it from its rust filled slumber... If you do not own a welder or you are not having any luck welding a nut on (which does happen pretty often) The next thing I would do is what your brother said. I would snap the head of that bolt right off as close to thehead as possible Probably using an air hammer for better control Not to mention those 4500 beats per minute might knock it loose. Once you get the exhaust manifold off from snapping the head off the bolt you should be able to do is get a stud extractor tool but again I would not use a ****py Harbor Freight Chineseium one I would try to find a nice really hard USA, German or Japanese one that really grabs that bolt (I own a K-D tools one I bought off of eBay and it is an excellent stud extractor The Harbor Freight one isn't worth the junk metal it's made out of in my opinion...
Obviously you want to be careful getting it out You don't want to snap the bolt/stud off flush because then you will have a whole new set of problems And it won't involve the same processes all over again plus new ones lol
One last thing once you finally get it out I would highly recommend get a bottoming tap and go through and clean ALL the holes out, After you clean them out blow them out with an air compressor blow gun.
I know people will say put anti-seize on the bolts but let's be real It's not going to stay there The exhaust gets thousands of degrees of heat and gets hot and cold over and over and over There isn't much of anything that you can use to stop the corrosion from happening.
Very last thing I would recommend do not use Chrome plated bolts on the exhaust from personal experience the Chrome tends to separate and it will glue the exhaust studs and bolts in.
I believe you can buy stainless steel exhaust hardware (I have never used stainless on my exhaust hardware for full disclosure) I would imagine that would stop the corrosion issues in the future And I would imagine it would make future bolts easier to come out.

 

....The problem was solved ...and i must say was really a cool ending to a stuck bolt....using the original bolt....hats off to you