2 Manifold bolts wont budge!

[GofaST4life]

alright guys, after finding a crack in my manifold, i decided to take it off, this is probably the first time this maniflod has been taken off, it was stock when i bought it...anyways, i got as far as the picture shows and then spent about an hour working those damn things...PB Blaster was used, i let it soak while i was doing other things and i added more during the process.

well i started to strip both the bolts and the sockets im useing...im out of ideas...anyone got a helpful hint?

 

[GofaST4life]

i was beating on the handle with a hammer, haha...the other ones came with a bit of beating, but these two stubborn mo fo's are killing me...

yeah, after appliying the blaster i knocked on the bolts to get them lose...

i hope nothing else breaks with this "first time" unbolt of the mani

guess ill just keep my finger crossed.

EDIT: a have all new bolts for everything

 

[spooln4fun]

+1 on anti sieze, and my jack handle is also my best friend...

ok i had this same problem, i was taking the manifold off to replace it as well... had one stubborn bolt that got stripped...I broke out the angle grinder grinded off the head of that bolt and got my manifold off....while doing so heated up the bolt enough i could grind a line in the middle of the bolt and use a flat head and backed it out....so another idea for ya

angle grinder to cut off the bolt.....pipe wrench to back it out of the turbo

 

[whiteflash]

big breaker bar and some PB blaster. Ive used an impact gun before too. Another thing I've done is putting a pipe (around 6 feet long) over the breaker bar to get as much leverage as possible.

 

[meliketoball]

Don't go at an all out force to take off the turbo bolts. I was in the process of taking off my exhaust manifold as well, I got 3 out of the 4 bolts off and the last one was pretty stubbon with my 1/2 craftsman ratchet. So I brought out the BREAKER bar! I was attempting to crack the bolt off; I was cracking it then after a few times more..CRACK! I almost fell and the bolt head was ripped off! Now I have to spend at least an hour wiggling my turbo around to taking off my exhaust manifold when its supposed to be 15 minutes..!!

So yes, don't break the bolt you'll be in a world of crap unless you have a welder.

 

[kenamond]

Go out and buy a good 6-point 14mm **socket** with a 1/2" drive and a 1/2" drive breaker bar. Also, I wouldn't be torqueing on that with the nuts off of the exhaust mani or you may damage the head or break head/mani studs while your fuxing around with the breaker bar, hammer, etc. Put the mani nuts back on and stug them down (don't torque them to spec or anything). Then warm up the car. Then smack the heads of the bolts with a hammer a few times (not too hard, now, tough guy!). Then use the new socket and breaker bar and see what happens.

 

[awdtalon21]

dude i would torch and a impact

 

[zero97tsi]

i was working on her and my gf asked me if i was still thinking of sellign it...i think she is doing this to spite me

Yeaaaahhh. Wow, would have been good to know that before. Those are never coming off now.

 

[slowgsr]

dude you need to use an oxy-acetelyne torch (sp?) heat it up untill its dull red, use the RIGHT SIZE SHALLOW 6PT SOCKET (yes im yelling at this guy!), and a good size breaker bar and crack it loose.

You say you use the right size of socket and it strips, clearly your not, it would break if anything, and i dont know how you sprained your hand by pushing on a wrench, your a hazard to yourself and need to let a qualified person do the work, if you continue to work on your own cars you are going to wind up killing yourself!

 

[coryd]

man, all of you guys work way to hard... soak it, heat it, use a good impact. If it doest come out it will break.

 

[meliketoball]

man, all of you guys work way to hard... soak it, heat it, use a good impact. If it doest come out it will break.

We're not as blessed as you to own air tools not to mention a compressor!

But yeah, put your exhaust manifold back on and try getting a swivel for the socket. When I was taking off the turbo bolts for the first time, I stripped my cheapo ass wal mart 14mm socket because the turbo bolts aren't flat and easy to put the socket all the way in.

With the swivel you can fit the socket on snug. You'd have to watch out because with the swivel adapter or whatever will cause you to slip, so watch that. Good luck!

-Tighten your manifold back.
-Spray the hell out of the turbo bolts with PB blaster.
-Start the car to heat up the bolts.
-Spray some more PB blaster or whichever you use.
-Hit the top of the bolt lightly to a medium BANG.
-Get your breaker bar with an extension, swivel adapter possibly and your good quality (Craftsman or Snap on) 6 POINT 14 mm SOCKET and CRACK that mother off!

 

[GofaST4life]

dude you need to use an oxy-acetelyne torch (sp?) heat it up untill its dull red, use the RIGHT SIZE SHALLOW 6PT SOCKET (yes im yelling at this guy!), and a good size breaker bar and crack it loose.

You say you use the right size of socket and it strips, clearly your not, it would break if anything, and i dont know how you sprained your hand by pushing on a wrench, your a hazard to yourself and need to let a qualified person do the work, if you continue to work on your own cars you are going to wind up killing yourself!

first off, ive always done the work and its always come out good, dont think i dont know what im doing, doubt im going to kill myself!
secondly i am using the right size shallow socket (so no need to yell, chill)...i am using the right size sockets and yes they stripped (you want a pic there bud) and they arent cheap ones either, they are craftsman...

im going to go with what everyone is saying, pretty much what meliketoball has stated above...

thankx for the tips guys, this should do the trick...

 

[skeeter4200]

Another idea is if your bolt is to stripped out that a 14mm wont work anymore go down a size or two depending whatever is just smaller than the bolt head and hit it on with a hammer this will ruin the socket that you are using but it will work ive done it with tire wheel locks and other bolts and nuts heat up the manifold with a cheap torch that you can buy at any auto part dealer and slowly back out the bolts.... now of course your going to need two sockets .......Good Luck

 

[girlieracr4g63]

Another idea is if your bolt is to stripped out that a 14mm wont work anymore go down a size or two depending whatever is just smaller than the bolt head and hit it on with a hammer this will ruin the socket that you are using but it will work ive done it

Yes I have had to do this myself a few times. Sometimes never getting the bolt out of the socket. heh Just a tip...Bump the rachet or breaker bar. A lot of the time this keeps you from stripping the bolt.

 

[GofaST4life]

well guys im going to tackle it in about an hour, after i get some food and set up the car...

ill let you all know how it turned out

heres my plan

1.- PB Blast the hell out of the bolts

2.- start the car (hopefully it does start)

3.- warm up the mani

4.- tap the bolts lightly to loosen

5.- turn car off and try not to pass out (cars in garage on stands with no wheels so i cant even pull it outside to run it)

6.- use my new 14mm socket and try to get the mo fo's off

7.- come back here and tell story of success or failure

 

[turbosax2]

Keep the garage door open. That will aid in the "not passing out" part.

 

[Zmann42087]

I've pulled turbos off DSMs quite a few times and I've never had a turbo-to-manifold bolt get stuck or break on me. Maybe I'm just lucky but I'd like to think my procedure has something to do with it. One thing I do is take WD-40, PB Blaster, or similar and just soak the hell out of the bolts. And I mean get it good.. spray of course around the top/head of the bolt but also spray where the exhaust manifold and turbine housing meet (turbo gasket area) and spray right below the turbine housing where the tip of the turbo-to-manifold bolt protrudes a little bit. After I've sprayed it well, I let it sit for a while and soak in. The last time I pulled my turbo I sprayed it like a day in advance.. this is overkill surely, but I don't think its strange to spray the bolts and let it soak in for half an hour. After that you're really set to go.. just go to work with a good 14mm socket and a breaker/cheater bar. Good luck!

 

[GofaST4life]

Alrite boys, well it worked, i went with my previously posted list and it worked, well it took longer than i thought and it took a 8ft breaker bar to finally bust those damn things, started to smoke right away after getting the car started, i think thats was just the blaster burning off...then it was a pain in my arse to get the manifold off, but w/e im not upset...but i do have a few questions though and instead of starting a new thread, i figure ill just ask them here...

so here goes...

keep in mind this is the first time ive taken something like this off, in the first pic, what comes to mind to some of you guys when ya look at the engine/turbo, and what not?

in the second image there was this circular metal thing inbetween the turbo and the manifold, im assuming it was to help stop leaks? should i put it back in when i install the new mani?

the third pic is just there...

at the end of all this i foucl myself wanting to take the whole turbo/o2/downpipe and exhaust, and i got pretty close, but ive found that there is a whole lot more rust on the exhaust system and i cant get it off cause all the bolts, gaskets, well the whole exhaust system is rust, so i was going to just cut it off, good/bad?

anyother suggestions are greatly appreciated, i have one more full day to do some work before i go back to school, so what ever you guys think i should accomplish, ill give a try.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

PB Blaster won't work because it cannot penetrate into the sockets.

You have to understand that once you take out a bolt the next bolt is tougher because the turbo and exhaust are hanging on only those bolts. Use a jack or stand to hold up the downpipe/exhaust which leads direct to the turbo or at least you'll do some stripping.

 

[ricktb]

Glad to see I'm not the only one struggling with stubborn rusty bolts. At least you got a step further. Is that a stock t25?

 

[kahl23]

Go out and grab some Freeze Off. It's a penetrant made by CRC. It comes in a light blue can. When you put it on, spray for ten seconds. Then take a metal hammer and gently tap the face of the nut for about fifteen seconds. Let it sit for a minute or two and then give it a try. I've been surprised at how well this stuff works. *For future searches.*

 

[SOADweskey]

I don't see anything jumping out of those pics as bad. Maybe clean up some of that oil and grime while you have the manifold off.

That ring is the sealing ring and it is there to help the gasket not to blow out. If you aren't porting the step out of the turbo and the manifold I would put it back in as it helps protect the gasket.

As for cutting the exhaust off I wouldn't unless you really need to. Exhaust bolts always look bad but usually come off alright. But if you go through the trouble of completely removing the t-25 you might as well put a bigger one back on.

 

[BoostedinSoFla]

Well, you're considering cutting the exhaust system off but do you have a replacement system? i.e. like an aftermarket system?
I would just do it if the stock system is rusted really badly. I had a great deal of problems when removing my downpipe to cat bolts and cat to stock exhaust system bolts, so I just cut off the cat from both ends. Those bolts were so rusted that they were never gonna come off.

 

[GofaST4life]

Well, you're considering cutting the exhaust system off but do you have a replacement system? i.e. like an aftermarket system?
I would just do it if the stock system is rusted really badly. I had a great deal of problems when removing my downpipe to cat bolts and cat to stock exhaust system bolts, so I just cut off the cat from both ends. Those bolts were so rusted that they were never gonna come off.

yes thats a T-25...

honestly the rust is really really bad, i keep all my OEM parts that i take off the car and box them up for safe keeping, just to have around, i wanted to do that with the stock exhaust but like i said its bad enough were i just dont even want to keep it, ya know...and the bolts holding it have so much rust, corrosion build up its hard to get a socket on them...

I do not have the aftermarket system yet, i have a couple 3inch sytems im looking at just havent picked one yet, but i will have one to put back on next time im home on break to install...

 

[GofaST4life]

But if you go through the trouble of completely removing the t-25 you might as well put a bigger one back on.

i wanna, i reall want to, but i dont yet have the supporting mods, i.e. FMIC and fuel mods

 

[whiteflash]

i wanna, i reall want to, but i dont yet have the supporting mods, i.e. FMIC and fuel mods

You would be fine with a 14b on stock fuel, I installed mine for around 100$ including the price of the turbo...