Shop Time w/T.W. Friends

None of the above.

 

I can dig it!

 

Sweater vest?

 

My wife has been wanting one for a while, it’s time

 

I'm replacing the exhaust on my FJ.
Looking for suggestions on removing the nuts and studs without breaking them off in the head and not removing the head or engine.

 

Welder, torch, penetrant, vise grips, beer, swearing, a tow truck to the nearest shop so it's their problem. I think I pretty much got that in chronological order too.

 

@BananaMan

 

Unexpected but welcome?

 

Showed up today on another forum I'm on.

 

I was thinking remove the nuts, then the manifold, then deal with the studs.

 

Heat, possibly have to use a vice grip and hope they unscrew from the head. I’ve never had good luck removing exhaust studs.

 

Can you break it at the 'B' pipe and leave the manifold attached? That looks like a LOT of no fun at all.

 

The previous owner welded the whole mess together.

I have to sawzall it out in pieces.
I pulled it into the garage, so I'll need to turn it around in case I have to get an engine hoist on it

 

Heat! If you know anyone with an induction tool see if they'll let you use it, they work extremely well (NO flame) on rusted hardware...

$171 Magnetic Induction Heater Kit, 1000W 110V Hand Held Heater for Rusty Screw Removing, Automotive Flameless Heater with 4 Coils and Portable Storage Box

https://www.amazon.com/Ductor-Magne...1&keywords=bolt+heater&qid=1619139351&sr=8-11

 

Happy wife = happy life! ( and then we can buy more cool stuff...)

 

Aluminum head, or steel?

If Aluminum... ouch!

Assuming steel, heat it well and quench repeatedly with your favorite penetrating oil (repeatedly as in at least a half-dozen times), get your best set of Vice Grips (or even buy a new pair), and after the heat cycles, let it cool for ~12 hours and soak in penetrating oil. Then heat it again, and get the Vice Grips on to the end of the stud and tighten them down as much as you can, and try and turn them out.

Assuming that doesn't work ('cause we all know the easy route NEVER works like you see on YouTube!), get in there with a die grinder and bristle wheel and clean the **** out of them, 'til you're down to good steel and then weld a decent size nut (5/8) on them and try and turn them out.

Again, assume that won't work, and find the gasket kit you bought, cut that abortion of a 'B' pipe off, pull the heads, get them on the bench and drill them out. If you have to resort to this, it's critical to do it properly. Cut the stud off as close to the block as you can, but leave a little bit standing proud (1/8 - 1/4") and grind the top flat, layout the center perfectly, and use an optical center punch to mark the center, and start drilling out. Use a small center drill to start, and then move up by 1/32" or so, and once you get to just about the maximum you can drill, ideally switch to a left-hand drill bit. Shouldn't be more than a weekend and two case job!

 

GOOD call!

 

I'll give it a try, thanks all.

For a penetrate I'm using a mixture of liquid wrench, pb blaster, mouse milk, and transmission fluid (everything I had)

 

I got my second shot today.

All of 3rd is the best way to pass. 90 mph @ 6800 rpm in the WRX.