Aftermarket Exhaust Manifold - Thoughts & Recommendations

I also had much trouble with the manifold bolts. At first I just needed to detach the cat from the manifold to work on it away from the car. The right side bolt head spun off. This is of course the one that is more difficult to reach without removing the sub-frame. I attempted to drill it out but broke the drill bit. Then I had to drill out the drill bit and the bolt with a hardened cobalt bit. That was unsuccessful until I torched the bolt and basically annealed it down to a level that could be drilled. It was extremely challenging to drill straight on that bolt and equally challenging to cut it off.

I also thought about removing the manifold, but stopped short of risking what I had read about too many others stripping the manifold bolts and having to basically remove the whole engine to drill out the broken bolt and tap the block with a repair helicoil.

I would be careful with using those flexible shafts (usually meant for drill driving or screwing) as a cutoff wheel shaft. They aren’t really designed to take high speed cutting loads especially when bent tightly. I have a flexible Dremel shaft that I was able to use with some success to get in there, but even still it was challenging.

Eventually I got the cat off, cleaned up, repaired, and I was able to retap the drilled out manifold hole and use a larger screw. I also pulled a manifold off of a junked element and have it on a shelf in case I need it. Given that you can usually find a junked E in a U-pull yard, I would try to go OEM over something new.

Guys, thank you very much for your comments and thoughts. I did not feel comfortable getting under there with a live flame or welder. I do have all four wheels up about 5 inches from the ground.

I went back under with the induction heater, the long handle ratchet, the impact sockets, the nut extractors, and more nerve than before. After a hell of a lot of heating, both bolts broke free and are out. Took several days. I rammed my hand into the cross member (forgot the gloves) and am bleeding pretty good from two knuckles right now. Thank you so much for your guidance. I can now replace the rusted exhaust stay bracket. Looking at the removed bolts, I have no earthly idea how I was able to grip them and get them out. They are a mess. What did you guys replace them with? Did you use 10 mm X 25 mm long fine thread flanged bolts and heavy washers?

However, how do I get that lower exhaust manifold heat shield bolt out? It looks like the head has rusted down from 12 mm to 10 mm. Also, what is the mesh washer/gasket under the head of this bolt and between the bolt and heat shield? Should I just leave it alone? My concern is that if it breaks free, it will rattle the shield, and there is no room or access once the exhaust system is installed. I did remove the rectangular heat shield above it to get a little more access. Thoughts/comments/advice/cautions?

Thank you again.

Okay, here is a picture of what I am up against on the exhaust manifold heat shield lower bolt. This is from a similar thread, specifically Exhaust Manifold leak/removal issue



However, mine looks just like this one, perhaps a tad worse. Also, I removed the heat shield at the top left (4 bolts) to get slightly more access. Any thoughts? The other thread suggested vise grips, but it is very hard to get in this area. Maybe if I had a much larger pair of vise grips. I am concerned because if this bolt breaks free, the shield will vibrate and rattle. With the exhaust installed, it will be impossible to get access to this area.

Thank you.

Here are some photos of that wire mesh "grommet."

As I said in one of my previous posts in this thread, my car was missing this heat shield when I bought it. When I replaced the catalytic converter and had to deal with the manifold stay bolt, I had to order a bunch of parts, so I ordered a heat shield. I have not yet put it on so I was able to take these pictures.

If you look carefully you can see that the two "washer" halves are press fit assembled like a grommet, sandwiching the wire mesh washers.

ktemkin,

Okay, great, now I understand the construction. That means the outside of this metal grommet (closest to the bolt head) has rusted away, fused to the bolt, and exposed the wire mesh. So when I am trying to turn it, I am not only fighting the threads but trying to turn this metal grommet. I do not see any way to remove it without causing more problems. So how about leaving this lower exhaust manifold heat shield bolt in place and adding a band clamp (see photo)?




The band clamp is above the bolt and positioned in a detent/recessed area. I positioned the tension screw towards the driver side. Anyone ever try this? Thoughts/comments/suggestions? I want to be able to prevent vibrating/rattling if this lower bolt should fail.

Also, how tough are the upper exhaust heat shield bolts to remove? I looked at them and they look in decent shape, but I am sure they are locked in place.

Finally, did you have any issues/adverse effects from running without the heat shield?

Thank you.