hey guys, i have this set of 73 heads, and the bolts to the exhaust mani are on there pretty good, i figure if i can get the exhaust mani off, i can reduce the lugging weight A LOT, not to mention, i dont have to fear for my life when it falls on my foot. Well, i have gotten 4 out of the 7 bolts off on one of the heads, and i think 1 or 2 of the bolts on the the other head off. I bought rust eater and attacked it with that, thats how i got one more bolt off (the 4th one) Well, i still have these three, that are clinging on this sucker for dear life. The center one is pretty much stripped, the outside two are fine, but they are on there. any tips would be much appreciated. thanks guys.
oh yeah, and if i have to, i will bring it to a shop, i dont want to, but i can if its a must. BTW, it has to be more than elbow grease on this one, i actually injured myself trying to take one of the bolts off. it hurt so much.
May have to grind the bolt head off, then use vise-grips, or if that won't work, grind two sides flat and use a crescent wrench. If they're just too darned stuck to turn at that point, I'd try applying some heat with a torch. Of course, this is all after letting them soak in penetrating oil for a day or so. Good Luck!
I had to leave the exh manifold on my passenger side head when I pulled them.....talk about a nightmare!!!! I didn't think I could acutally get it out of the engine compartment....but I did:grin:
yeah, this thing is a nightmare to wander around with. I tried to let it soak, thats how i got one of the bolts off, the others though hate life.
Welcome to the club. Both of my exhaust manifolds are leaking and not one of the bolts will come loose. :rant: I plan to pull the heads with the manifolds attached using an engine hoist. Heat up the bolts with a torch then immediately hit it with an air wrench. Only as much torque as you need to get them loose.
basically what your saying is that i dont stand a chance against these things, and i am getting owned by a 30 year old chunk of iron, and i need to take it to a shop.... I'll keep trying.
Well, I have performed this repair on several other vehicles and I have never gotten them all off on the vehicle, usually one or two bolts break off. I have always been able to vibrate them loose with the air wrench once removed.
yeah, i dont have any air tools, this job is taking place in my living room of my apt. (i know im stupid) But its all the room i got. Im doing this with a 3/8ths ratchet, so you can imagine the frustration involved in this.
I am batting 100% on getting them off of 455s. The key is patience. It may day several days of soaking before they are ready to turn. We use Mouse Milk which is sold by aircraft suppliers like www.aircraftspruce.com. It is a type of penetrating oil. You might first trying to slighly turn it clockwise, then c clockwise. As for your question in the other post about porting, a lot of people have reported ruining the first set of heads they attempted.
Naahhh, you'll get them off, it'll take some doing, is all... :TU: Heads are out of the car, right? As long as you don't round off the heads with a slipping wrench or ratchet, you're still good. :bglasses: Give them a good bath in penetrating oil, and every time you walk by them, whack the bolt heads :spank: to jar them a bit. Do this for a day or so, and then get you a long-handled breaker bar, find the tightest-fitting socket in your toolbox, and give it some back-n-forth pulls. All you need to do is get it to move once, and it's yours. :grin: If you absolutely can't get it to move, I'd then get out the big guns, and grind off the bolt heads as said above. Once you get the bolt head off, you can remove the manifold, and it won't be putting pressure on the bolt anymore, plus you can get either a pipe wrench, vise-grips, or grind 2 sides down and use a crescent. If it snaps off at that point, it's welded itself to the head anyway, and so then you drill it out and re-tap the hole. Heat will help at any stage of the above, and that's what a shop is going to do as they charge you $50... :Smarty:
I just ordered the mouse milk, thanks for the tip, and i agree with what you said about porting, i have talked to a couple people, and this wouldnt be the smartest set of heads to try my first porting job, thank you for your honest response. I will probably get a head from some motorfrom ebay just to try it out.
