Aftermarket Exhaust Manifold - Thoughts & Recommendations

Several months back I ran into the same issue with a bolt locking the bottom of the exhaust manifold to the stay bracket. In my case the head of the bolt had been rounded-off by some previous "repair," so I used a MIG to weld a new head onto the bolt and, once welding on, the bolt came right out. I believe the greatest factor in loosening the bolt was simply the intense thermal shock imparted by the welding--I would think your inductive heater would have done the same thing. After welding, I backed out the bolt with a 1/2"-drive impact gun--that may have also helped breaking the seize. Be sure to use a universal joint when approaching the bolt head as the subframe/suspension prevents you from getting a straight, solid purchase on the head of the bolt.

Here's the link to what I did.

Looking for recommendations on exhaust manifold repair...

shdrazba, overlooked your question about the type of antiseize compound to use. Have used the copper stuff for years but when I ran out of that a few years ago switched to the nickel stuff. I have not detected that the nickel stuff is any better.

shdrazba, also, how long is the hose clamp you used? I took a better look at the bottom bolt area of my exhaust manifold and it appear a previous repair simply ripped the whole female threaded plate from the exhaust manifold, so I'm going to have to use your hose clamp repair method.

Finally, for anyone who can answer this, how does the heat shield install: from above (in the engine compartment) or below (from underneath the car)?

From above I've been trying to manipulate the shield for about a half-hour and I can't see how it would drop down over the manifold. There's a firewall heat shield, brackets and a bunch of piping that are preventing maneuvering the manifold shield into place. Am I missing something about dropping the heat shield in from above?

I'm reticent to approach from the bottom as that means removing my catalytic converter protection installation and the cat itself. Not that it is difficult, and if I have to, so be it, but it just makes the project more involved than I planned.