stripping bolts q's.

[captd108]

hey when i plan on putting in my 16g i want to make sure i do everything to prevent stripping bolts and holes and creating big problems since the car is my daily driver. Question pretty much is what can i do to prevent this from happening while i am replacing the turbo, also will using air tools prevent stripping even more or increase the chance. Also are all o2 sensor sockets the same or are there different sizes. thanks

 

[sjgYFZ200]

I would make sure you drown everything in PB blaster, that seems to work with alot of people here...let it soak, drive it, let it soak again, repeat.

 

[miteclgst]

Do as sjgYFZ200 said and drown everything in PB blaster a few days before you plan to take it out. I didn't drive my car a few days before I did my turbo swap so I pretty much went out 2 times per day (morning and evening) a few days before hand and sprayed all of the bolts. I had the heat shield removed and I sprayed the turbo bolts, the manifold studs, as much of the o2 housing bolts that I could see and the dp bolts. I wouldn't spray the o2 senor itself because the lubricant will probably ruin the senor if it gets on it. They all came off like they were brand new. You will quickly find that PB blaster will be your best friend when it comes to working on these cars. Also I would check the install at www.plymouthlaser.com I know they do a Evo3 install and they have it documented pretty well, they cover everything you will need.
When it comes to air tools and stripping I would say that your best bet is to try to do everything by hand first, if it is really hard then try an air tool, if you get some movement spray the part again and go on to something else. When it comes to reassembly do not use an air tool unless you are absoluetly certain that everything is threaded correctly. It dosn't take much to cross thread the fine turbo bolts so line everthing up and don't force anything. You should almost be able to run the entire bolt in with just your hands. Once you are confident that everything is good then you can use the air tool if you so desire.

Also buy the extra turbo bolt and replace the stud. It really is in your best interest.

The only thing that I don't agree with on their install is part of the assembly sequence. I have pulled my Evo 3 out several times and I found it to be the easiest to first remove the upper rad hose (you will be draing the rad anyone to hook up the coolant lines). Then with the turbo out of the car connect up the braided oil line and let the bottom part hang, then the manifold, then the 02 housing. This way when you put everything together you can be certain that you are threading in the turbo bolts correctly and that the turbo isn't crooked and cause a misthread. Then with this all together go and set it in the car, have a manifold nut on top of the valve cover so you can put it on to hold the whole thing in place until you get everything else together. Once the Mani is on there is really no easy way to get to the oil line fitting on the top of the turbo. Other than that the install shouldn't be all that bad. Good luck and take your time, don't rush, it will only bite you in the ass in the end.

 

[steve]

PB Blaster works great.

Are you worried about stripping the bolt heads or threads. I don't see too many threads stripped during removal. That usually happens when people don't use a torque wrench on install. Using good, propper fitting sockets and wrenches and making sure they are square on the bolt/nut goes a long way to avoiding rounding off the heads. Make sure the parts are cold as that gives the greatest clearances between the fastner and part or use temp differentials to your advantage

Impact tools can both help and hurt. They will quickly round off a head if don't get then on square or check to make sure it's turning the the right direction. The impact does helps crack rusted bolts loose.

I've only seen one size O2 socket. If you have to use the impact drive to get it loose you should replace the sensor. The don't take kindly to impact either from tools or dropping.

Steve

 

[miteclgst]

A note on what steve said. I would definately invest in a nice set of 6pt metric sockets. The 12 pt type can ruin bolts real quick. I do auto restoration and during disassembly I see a lot of rusted bolts, I always grab a 6pt socket because they are less likely to round of the bolt or nut head.

 

[yugotdonkey]

Ditto on that. What I did for my exhuast bolts was soak a towel or sock or something in PB Blast, and soak the bolts, wrap the sock around and let it sit over night. It worked great, that stuff is a savior. Also, I'd get a breaker bar handy, air tools might be too much, dont want to break the rusted bolt off in the hole, but I could be wrong about the air, I don't have much experience with air tools. When you go to put the bolts back in, if they feel like they are hard to turn, reverse direction and work them back out of the holes, then back in. Keep doing that until you can get it on there smoothly. That will help the threads from not getting messed up. Not sure on the O2 sensor sizes. Hope that helps ya some

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

I also suggest only using 6 point sockets and wrenches unless you absolutly need to use a 12 point such as a really tight spot. That and a good torque wrench.

 

[captd108]

im primarily focusing on not stripping anything at all wether that be heads or threads, also for taking them out id pretty much try doing it by hand at first and if that dont work id go for air tools and for putting bolts back on id figure the best thing to do would be to hand tighten first and make sure everyhthing is lined up and then use air tools to tighten them down. and yeah pb blaster has helped me many times in the past so ill defintely be using that alot for this. thanks for the tips any other tips are still welcomed as well

 

[MNGSX]

Using impacts.. USE GOOD QUALITY IMPACT SOCKETS no hand tool sockets (chrome). Always use the exact right size.

Always use six point sockets and wrenches... It will have 6 corners in the socket not 12. It places less stress on the corners of the nut..


Just watch the heat sheild bolts... Anything tiny and or exposed to heat will be the hard part. Those main turbo bolts are pretty tough... Impact them out and tq wrench them down..

I use a 1/4" air rachet (tiny, weak tq but high rpm) to assemble then a tq wrench.. Fast but you cant break anything with a little 1/4" drive air rachet.

 

[captd108]

yeah i got one of those lttle 1/4 inch ratchets as well so i will be using those too then since they have a lesser chance of breaking bolts

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Don't use powertools to tighten them down. It will be hard do get them all equally tight and to the proper torque. Tighten them with hand tools then use a torque wrench for the final tightining. I don't know how much good your 1/4 inch ratchet will do for the bigger bolts. I would reccomend at least a 3/8ths ratchet.
and a torque wrench

 

[miteclgst]

The 1/4 rachets will do nothing for disassembly unless they are high quality like "Snap on" or something of that nature. We have one at work and unless you are putting brand new parts together or taking them apart they seem to only get jammed. Also There aren't a whole lot of bolts you can get to with the rachet, maybe 6 out of 10 manifold bolts, the turbo bolts will be way too big and the 02 housing bolts will more than likely require a bit of work to take out.

 

[captd108]

well i do have pretty much all of these tools mentioned minus the torque wrench :thumbdown but ill be picking up one soon (what do you torque most of these bolts down to anyways) and i guess due to the variety of answers it all comes down to preference in a way. Im just pretty much wondering how to go about this without destroying any bolts or holes. Thansk for all the advice i know its defintely all going to help so keep the tips coming.

 

[miteclgst]

usually a chiltons or similar service manual will give torque specs.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

You sound pretty new at all this. I would sugest finding a wrench head DSMer near you willing to take you under their wing. A Chiltons or equal manual should have the torque specs for those bolts. The best way is to get a factory manual or the CD rom equivilant. They can be found on ebay. I am sure the torque specs are posted here or club dsm but don't know where. Defiant also posted this nice little chart one time that had general torque specs going off the diameter bolt. You may be able to search around and find it or maybe PM him and see if he still has it.

 

[steve]

what do you torque most of these bolts down to anyways

I think the VAFQ has torques listed but you should invest in the Manual CD and buy it from the guy who did the work rather than somebody ripping him off on eBay.

Steve

 

[MNGSX]

The 1/4 rachets will do nothing for disassembly unless they are high quality like "Snap on" or something of that nature. We have one at work and unless you are putting brand new parts together or taking them apart they seem to only get jammed. Also There aren't a whole lot of bolts you can get to with the rachet, maybe 6 out of 10 manifold bolts, the turbo bolts will be way too big and the 02 housing bolts will more than likely require a bit of work to take out.

Um its a 1/4 air rachet... Used for just re-assembly or after you break something loose with a 3/8" or 1/2" rachet or an impact.