Advice on removing headers/heat exchangers
 

All,
I'm getting ready to remove the old, most likely original headers, exhaust, catalytic converter, muffler, etc...

Any suggestions or advice from those who've tackled this in the past??

I plan on soaking all the bolts with PB Blaster for a few days... (shoot each bolt, wait a day, go back and spray them down again, for the next 3-4 days).

Other than that though... what's the best way to tackle this without breaking any bolts.

Heat. Make sure you have torch

^^^^+1. Also have a die grinder/cut-off tool handy. Don't be shy about cutting frozen bolts (they will be replaced anyhow).

Heat yes, also I had good luck with CRC Freeze-off (get plenty of it)

Heat/cool/heat cycle seems to break them loose

Go slow and have patience, you may not break any! (I didn't on a 320k motor)

Tap, tap, tap. If you feel one being temperamental, do not turn any further. Either heat the heck out of it, or cut the nut off. Lots and lots of great treads. If car is on stands, start spraying with Kroil days before, tap the studs in hope it will break rust.

if you are not saving the current exchangers consider cutting portions away with a cutting wheel to get better angles on the nuts & barrels for stubborn removal. why monkey around with parts you will toss recycle at the curb?

If you don't want to deal with snapped studs consider taking it to your local P-mechanic and have him replace all the nuts on the exhaust system. If one snaps he can deal with it, if not good deal just take it home and remove with confidence at your leisure.

The 911 engine "Gurus" that I've been around will heat the nuts until they are cherry red and while still cherry red use the allen socket tool on an extension for the barrel nuts and hit the extension with a FIRM blow from a large hammer to seat the tool before applying the ratchet to remove them.

^^^ this is a good method, only thing I would add is that I only use our little stubby ratchet wrench to avoid applying too much torque. If it won't break free with that then I repeat the PB/heat/tap technique. We have a micro butane torch for things like this, easier to manipulate than the bigger acetylene torch.

HTH,
Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 432k miles, with all original exhaust studs :-)

I'm a complete greenhorn so my advise is worthless. That said, a tip I learned from our "guru" is to sometimes turn a bolt in a hair when stubborn, just a bit to get the threads moving in booth directions.

He only did this once he was sure it wasn't too keen on moving just the one direction (he also used lots of heat).

Many threads in the archives as folks have wrestled with this task for at least 40 years. I would not apply substantial torque to near red hot parts. They're more susceptible to deforming at that temp. I would heat the nut to expand the metal, spray your PB, Kroil or equivalent so it migrates into the threads to break any corrosion bond, then let it cool for a bit before applying any torque to the fastener. Repeat as necessary. Resist the urge to disassemble by destroying parts unless it's your last resort. It's sloppy and provides little improvement of your mechanical skills. That said, it's also sometimes fun, stress-relieving and can save time. ��

S

Heat wrench.
Cherry red, then wrench