I was investigating an exhaust leak and found that not only were
many of the nuts a bit loose on the exhaust manafold, but also one
of the four nuts on the stud to the down-pipe (front) was
stripped. The nut spins freely in both directions, going nowhere.
I tried to take off that front manifold but couldn’t get that nut
off. What’s my next step?
Doug
63 fhc–
douglas dowling
arlington, va, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Doug, what you need is a nut cutter/splitter
availabe from any hardware store. Then, as long
as you have the exhaust manifolds off, it would be
a great idea to replace all of the studs and nuts on
both manifolds.
Larry
In reply to a message from douglas dowling sent Wed 24 May 2006:
Doug,
Get a screwdriver between the nut and the flange, and pry the
nut downward as you turn it. You should be able to get it back on
the threads and work it off.–
Ray Livingston - '64 OTS Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from douglas dowling sent Wed 24 May 2006:
Hi Doug,
Depends if you want to fix it or fix it right.
I have one exh. stud that won’t let me torque the nut w/o spinning.
I put a jam nut (1/2 thickness nut) on the remaining stud below
stripped nut/stud. It works, it’s called a ‘‘field fix’’. Could last
forever once ‘‘poor man’s loctite’’ (rust) takes hold.
Can you get a screwdriver between the nut and manifold? Have a
friend lever it down while you turn it off with a socket. Maybe
you’ll start the threads on the good portion of the stud.
If you take a chisel to the nut I’d bet you’ll crack the cast iron
manifold before the nut gives up. Maybe try cutting the nut
diagonally with a small grinder. I’m sure it’s the one stud thats
easy to get to, right?
At the muffler shop they’d have the ‘‘blue wrench’’ (cutting torch)
out long ago. Blown the nut off and gotten the down pipe out of the
way. Heated the manifold and worked the stud out. Ran the new stud
in and been done along time ago, and charged you twice the time it
really took. Probably still be a bargain. It’s the Midas Touch!
But what do I know?
Good luck!
Dave–
1969 BRG OTS
Skaneateles, NY, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from David Ahlers sent Wed 24 May 2006:
Doug,
I agree with Dave. If it was my car - and I only wanted to stop the
exhaust leak, I would snug it up as best I could, and then add a
second nut (or jam nut as Dave suggests) to force the fit tight.
This assumes that there are enough clean threads left on the stud
for the jam nut to take a grip. Not knowing the condition of your
car, you could end up trying to take the manifold off the block and
finding a stripped stud in the block (had that on my 4.2 and needed
it to be fixed during rebuild). Of course, if you encounter that,
you’ll say ‘‘why not pull the engine and rebuild it since the head
has to come off anyway to get machined for new studs…’’ Also, I
have dealt with these studs on several cars now - when trying to
extract them (even after days of soaking in Kroil), 1 out of every
4 studs snaps off in the manifold - then off to the machine shop
you go! If this is a driver, the jam nut and poor man’s loctite
could hold you off until your big rebuild a decade from now.–
The original message included these comments:
Depends if you want to fix it or fix it right.
–
TomP (62 OTS, 66 2+2, 49 MGTC, 31 MG-M, 99 Z3)
El Dorado Hills (Sac), CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from douglas dowling sent Wed 24 May 2006:
Depending on the location, the nut splitter may not fit. If
the screwdriver trick does not work, obviously the jam nut
won’t help. Try a Dremel grinding tool with a cutting wheel
(fast) or a stone (slow) to split the nut, then replace the
stud. Good luck,–
The original message included these comments:
I tried to take off that front manifold but couldn’t get that nut
off. What’s my next step?