I've had my car for a few months now and I've done quite a bit of work on it. I just took it on a 170 mile one way trip and came back with basicly no issues. I have a 1300 mile trip planed this week. I would like to take this car. The only known defects.
1. AC low pressure switch- I hope (and expect) to have this fixed tomorrow. (If not tonight)
2. Exhaust stud- while working on something else, I noticed the rear most exhaust manifold stud and nut was gone. Of course it didn't unthread, it snapped off at the block. The manifold is still in place and doesn't leak.
I have allready replaced all the studs and gaskets on the driver's side. Obviously, I should have done both sides. It didn't leak then, so I put it off. (I didn't know about any broken studs)
If I tear into this now, it may take longer than I have before I have to leave. If I don't, it might start leaking in the first 100 miles.
One option is to see if I can remove and install a new stud without removing the manifold. Has anybody done this? I will say the broken one is easy to get at. But if one broke, can the others be far behind? Has anybody driven a long time with a broken stud with no issues?
Another option is to bring the stud kit with me as the guy I'm going to see has a very complete shop that I'm welcome to use. (He's paying me a lot to go there)
Opinions? Great flaming opportunity here.