help! impossible driver's side header bolt

So after running around and calling pretty much everywhere in Denver, I found replacements at Industrial fastener. 12pt head, M10 coarse thread 1.25" long.

With ground wrenches I was able to back it off a few more turns but it seems bound up now and I couldn't strong arm it enough to get it to turn more. I guess this will continue to wait until a weekend when I have enough time to tear this shit apart again.

 

Maybe a Dumb answer but how about welding a bolt on top of another bolt or something with that idea

 

just do what i did when i snapped my crossover studs off. just remove bolt and clamp a set of vice grips on there ahaha.

 

I had a set of HF vice grips on the factory crossover/y pipe connection to help with the leak I had there


I think getting the new one in will actually be pretty easy if I can get the old bolt out, it takes a 10mm socket so I will be able to fit a 1/4" drive ratchet in there to tighten it up

 

I didn't read past the 1st page but if you're still struggling, you might need a set of crow foot wrenches

 

...for when I'm trying to undo a bolt / nut combo in a difficult spot.

FIFY

 

tooooo real right now

 

This got mentioned once earlier but no one responded. Did you try wobble extensions? Hook two or three together and you can get some weird angles.
Search wobble extension and you'll see what they do. I have a set and I use them all the time.

 

I did not, but I will definitely have to pick some up because they will be useful to have.


I ended up grinding the shit out of the open ends of the stubby 14mm and 16mm wrenches I had and ended up cutting the 16mm in half. Finally got the old bolt out and replaced with the 12 point one, which was a breeze to tighten


After taking it for a drive it's definitely not leaking on the driver side now but it still sounds like I have an exhaust leak on the passenger side. I tightened the passenger connections again and it didn't really improve, but I'll try hitting them again tomorrow. My muffler is pretty rusted out but it's not very loud like you would typically expect. Could that cause it to sound like an upstream connection leak? It has the same tick/rattle sound

 

Can you post pics of how much you ground down the wrenches?

 

Untouched 5/8" wrench in the middle for reference.

After tightening all the other connections up I discovered that my exhaust is leaking where the headers meet the cat because of poor fitment so it looks like I'm headed to the exhaust shop anyways

 

Damn, all that work just for a poorly designed header..



Gonna find me some TRD's

 

Yep, given all the time spent and added cost of random tools, replacement hardware, and then any additional exhaust work you're far ahead to spend more upfront for JBA, Doug Thorley, or TRD if you can find them.

All said and done the final cost will probably be comparable but at the end of the day I will still have an inferior product :/

 

If I ever run into a problem like that the first place I would go is the Snap-On Tools catalog. They have a bazillian different wrenches for problems like this. Nope, they aren't cheap, but Snap-On gets the job done every time when it comes to hand tools. I can guarantee that they make a wrench or some sort of gizmo that could get in there and do the job. Their online store is a nightmare to navigate but you can always call them and explain the problem. This one, of course, would be tough to explain over the phone but the picture would help.