Any tips on removal of the exhaust manifolds??? I dont plan on taking the motor out. Thanks. 72 350 Skylark.
Patience, patience, patience, soak, soak, soak, talk to God, use 6 point sockets,,,, give the bolt heads a few lite raps with a small hammer... then gently rock them back and forth,,, heat with a torch but not too much or you will soften them and they will wring off for sure.... put a little heat for a long time.. so it has time to run all the way down the bolt.... some heat a bolt and then hit it with some cold water and loosen it that way.... actually all of the above.....:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
i might suggest to ease the extraction of manifold bolts that u remove the fender liners. makes it much easier to smack those manifold bolts with the big hammer to unfreeze them.
I would wear some good gloves and try to remove them when the engine is warm. The heat from the engine will be more effective than a torch since the heat will be coming from inside the engine. If one or more break......be prepared to take a break, relax and then go at it again.....of all the engines I have removed for resto and in the local salvage yards.....I think I there were only 3 or 4 where I got all the bolts out. If you plan to keep the car, apply some Permatex Anti-Seize to the bolt threads when reinstalling them.
Ok, this is how it went..... I soaked the bolts for a week and a half with wd40 and Renault release spray from work ( £40 a spray can.. must be good stuff lol!) I tackled the first one thinking .. this is gonna snap! Not the case i flew through them even the one up against the bulk head at the back of the engine. Well thats not entirely true... the 3rd one in from the bulk head will not bloody come out!!!!:af: Ive wiggled and wiggled and swore. Spoke to God and Jesus, I guess they were busy.. being sunday and all. I was contemplating starting her up for a bit if that might help? I'd had enough by then:ball: , what with the inner fender flapping about so i could get a better swing with me hammer. I will need new bolts as the ones i got out are only fit for the bin!!!!! I will continue next sunday:Brow: .
fyi- i obtained exhaust manifold bolts from a local engine/transmission shop. note that the bolts are not all the same length.
I have a theory on the removal of exhaust manifold bolts..... Go into the project assuming you will get to pull the heads and you will never be dissapointed. Remember helicoils are likely to be your new best friends! regards and good luck.
Today I got welll stuck in, I got that little sucker out!! The exhaust gasket was like tissue paper and the manifold faces are shot. There is not enough surface left for me to skim:af: unless i can get someone to build it up with weld and then skim it flat. And next week...I'l try the other side YAY!!
I have had really great results with PB Blaster. I soaked my exhaust manifold nuts ith it over a four day period and they all came off with out with out any real problems. When I first tried they were frozen solid,I would start the motor and let it warm up then after I shut it off I would wait about five minituesnd spray them with the PB Blaster,I did this over four days and when I went to take them off a quick jerk on the wrench and off they came. Maybe I was just lucky? o No:
I did some research on this subject here on V8Buick and used all of the methods suggested by everyone on this thread. Each bolt seemed to need something different. The only common thing that was used was heat and lots of it. All of the bolts that went into blind holes came out no problem without heat. All the bolts that are on the tops of the manifolds needed the heat along with penetrating fluid etc. This forum is an absolute must if you own an older Buick car or are using an older Buick engine. The amount of knowledge possessed by you people is absolutely ASTOUNDING and IMPRESSIVE. This forum and its members ROCKS.
I am yet to use heat in extracting these bolts... having said that . I havent done the passenger side yetou:
Somehow, (perhaps the complete lack of bad words) we knew you hadn't yet tackled the passenger side. Having A/C on that thing will shorten up your dictionary pretty quickly when you get to it. :TU: :laugh:
Excellent thread. I am getting ready to tackle this as well. Soaked them with the PB Blaster last evening.
Good advice, all. Verrrryy OOOLLDD trick is to get the engine up to operating temperature. Drive it like it's a rental !!!, then apply paraffin (candle wax) to the bolt heads and exposed threads. It will wick into the threads and allow the bolt to be removed in ONE piece. Can't use too much, and it is cheap.
I have to tackle this myself on my 350. This thread was full of useful info and I'm glad I read it first. I've been very worried about taking it off. Today I was poking around the bolts before spraying them, and noticed that at least two were already loose enough that I could 'jiggle' them a bit with my fingers. I hope they aren't stripped out. The gasket that is on it is literally falling out. I'm going to have the manifold machined after I get it off. But I'm not sure if I should put a gasket back on or not. I have read quite a bit on here that no gasket is necessary, or just go with a silicone sealant. The passenger side seems to be nice and tight, I don't think I'm going to mess with that for now.
Tom, One thing about it ,,,, if you dont put a gasket in there when you put the manifold back on ,,,, there wont be one to burn out again.... problem solved.... Buick did not use them and did not recommend them.... but you are on the right track by machining the manifold straight ..... use stainless bolts with anti-seize compound when you go back with them and tighten them to about 25 or 30 ft.lb.,,,, no more....
I'd like to throw another qustion into the mix... What about the retainer clips around the edge of the bolts(64' 300)? I'm just curious how they got on there in the first place...crimped after the bolts went in....o No: Do you gently pry them away from the edge of the bolt head and go to work? I'm guessing they don't get re-used.
