pita exhaust studs

Instead of making steady progress I have just been fighting the exhaust manifold to y pipe bolts. I partially cut through 3 and broke them on purpose. 
 I can extract the pieces when I remove the headers. The 4th I could get a straight extension on and it ended up unthreading itself from the exhaust manifold. Now it's stuck loosely in the flange collar of the y pipe above the catalytic converter. I have a vise grip on it and am widdeling it down like a beaver with a Dremel extension. Laying on your back showering yourself with rust and sparks is so much fun. 
I just remembered I had this funky tool called a nut splitter. This should be a good test since there is no flange now that the stud is hanging. Will save the fun for tomorrow.

I did get the power steering pump tool and a Hayes manual for the torque specs. 


Popular posts from this blog

Flywheel, clutch, bell housing and some other details

Image
Installed the new flywheel.  Installed the new clutch.  Installed the clutch fork and throw out bearing  And then the bell housing  Installed a new transmission tailshaft seal.  I built a sled to drag it into place under the car and there's a bolt that fits the center of my jack through the center board. I may have to pull the shift cause there's exactly 19 inches under the pinch weld and thats the same to the shifter nub.
Read more

power steering rack line seals

Image
I finally decided to stop the leak that leaves a ton of fluid on my garage floor. I ordered the maximum motorsports rack seal kit. The instructions say you need to be clean before applying the sealant to the threads. I drained the rack and purged the rack after the lines were off so I could get rid of that little bit of fluid in the ports. i decided to completely remove and flush the lines to install the nylon seals. And have them stay clean through the install. the old one was chewed and the one that looks like new, wasn't installed right. Used the 2 screw driver method to gently stretch the rings out.  Then of course I take a break and get COVID. So 2 days later I am posting the pics.
Read more

water pump redo

Image
So with the change in temperature at the beginning of the year the water pump started sleeping when it was cold. This gradually got worse through the heat cycles. With corrosion evident on the bottom of the pump I decided to redo the water pump even though I am sure it could have just been resealed and been ok. I think I made 3 mistakes last time. I used the crap black gaskets that came with the pump. I used ultra grey rtv. I sealed the inner air pockets inside the pump. These filled with fluid and with the thermal expansion compromised the gasket. I went for a motorcraft pump this time as well as the light blue permatex rtv 22071. After I heatcycle the motor a few times I am going to go back and torque everything again. I also replaced the 2 left bolts that had corrosion on the from last time, with stainless ones. (5/16 - 18 4") I would have liked a 3 7/8" bolt but it's not available in stainless locally. I put a cut in an old bolt and chased the ...
Read more