Went to a muffler guy today....

[gamerguy51]

He looked and found my suspected exhaust leak and then said...that sucks. Hope you can find a guy to get that off(exhaust manifold). Have a nice day. Uhhhh, is it REALLY that difficult guys? Let me know!

[dn010]

He looked and found my suspected exhaust leak and then said...that sucks. Hope you can find a guy to get that off(exhaust manifold). Have a nice day. Uhhhh, is it REALLY that difficult guys? Let me know!

Post a picture of it, we will let you know...

[gamerguy51]

This is a newish exhaust circa 2001...no real rust besides on the manifold and studs

[Josh]

as said a picture would help!

By the sounds of it you need to go to another shop, that guy sounds like a jerk/idiot.

[DMCMW Dave]

He looked and found my suspected exhaust leak and then said...that sucks. Hope you can find a guy to get that off(exhaust manifold). Have a nice day. Uhhhh, is it REALLY that difficult guys? Let me know!

Believe, if he doesn't want to do it, you don't want him to try.

If the tech doesn't know what he's doing, here's what can go wrong:

He breaks off a stud or two, attempts to drill it out and drills a hole into the head (coolant or oil leak).
He breaks off a stud or two, puts it back together without them, and it leaks exhaust again in a week.
He doesn't break any studs, but doesn't bother to resurface the manifolds, and it leaks again in a week.

Or any combination of the above.

You want to find someone who's worked on rusty parts screwed into aluminum before and isn't afraid of it. You won't generally find such a person at a chain store muffler shop.

[Some guy]

a few years ago i had a guy say he would work on my delorean. Then he saw it and back out. i was pissed at the time, but now i get it.

They are scared to break it. Now i just do everything myself or take it to an expert. There is practically nothing in-between.

[gamerguy51]

He was actually cool about it and never promised anything to begin with. It was nice drive or to his place though. And I confirmed my suspicion is an exhaust leak

[gamerguy51]

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/04/02/8693885c86faa172f632e42a8c271f7e.jpg

[penciltester]

Well I will be watching this thread, with the help of my dad we will be tackling this job over the weekend. I have called around my area. Mom and pop shops as well as chain's. No one wants to touch it.

[DMCMW Dave]

Well I will be watching this thread, with the help of my dad we will be tackling this job over the weekend. I have called around my area. Mom and pop shops as well as chain's. No one wants to touch it.

Don't even think about it unless you have a good acetylene torch handy. That's really the best trick to getting it apart without breaking anything.

[AugustneverEnds]

Are there any shops in your area that specialize in European cars? I don't live really close to any of the DMC vendors so for the jobs I don't tackle myself I did some research and found a very good local Euro specialist. The PRV's exhaust really isn't difficult to remove just takes vast quantities of heat and patience. A competent shop should be able to help you out.

[Lou and "Boo"]

I never heated my exhaust manifold studs (which were rusted worse than that posted picture), and they unscrewed just fine with nothing breaking. A little AeroKroil helped. Just take your time. Quick jerks on the wrench will break it loose (no pun intended) but steady pressure will snap the stud/bolt.

[Rich_NYS]

The import shop where I live(Evia Auto) did the exhaust manifold gasket replacement on both sides of 10372. He lets the studs snap, removes the manifold, then uses a welding technique to zap a bolt onto the broken stud and easily backs the stud out. He has a few variations of the technique depending on how the stud snaps. He has done it a zillion times, enough to where he prefers the studs snap because it's easier for him.

When I do the exhaust on 4728, I'm going to do the work myself but will bring it to him to get the manifolds off.

[Bitsyncmaster]

When I can, I will MIG weld a nut onto a broken bolt and the heat (gets red hot) lets the broken bolt back out real easy. I've done that a few times to the transmission drain plugs.

[David T]

When I can, I will MIG weld a nut onto a broken bolt and the heat (gets red hot) lets the broken bolt back out real easy. I've done that a few times to the transmission drain plugs.

Nothing works better than an Oxy-Acetalyne torch on old, rusty exhaust hardware. You do have to be careful about the heat so you don't damage anything nearby. Even with that it is possible to pull the threads out of the aluminum. A Heli-Coil fixes that right up. Figure on a new set of studs and gaskets. If it has been leaking for a while you probably need to have the manifold ground flat.

[mluder]

I was pretty lucky. I did it with PB Blaster and a handheld propane torch. An impact driver is helpful as previously mentioned. Continuous pressure breaks bolts more often than a bunch of tiny impacts.

I soaked mine in Blaster for a couple of days. Just every so often went out to the garage and hit the nuts with a squirt. If they're real bad you can heat them with a torch first and then when hot spray the penetrating oil. Capillary action will help pull the oil into the threads. The only one I broke was because I had the driver set on revers and I actually tightened it instead of loosened. (Don't tell anyone).

Actually the most difficult nuts for me were the crossover pipe to the manifolds. Drives side is restricted access and didn't want to budge. IN the end heat, oil, and an impact gun won out.

Good Luck!
Steven

[dmruschell]

I recently helped a friend install a Stage 1 exhaust. I soaked the studs in penetrating oil on a regular basis a month before we tackled the job. We still broke a few studs. The good thing about the Stage 1 (as well as DPI's exhaust) is that they can make use of all 4 exhaust studs per cylinder, but don't necessarily need to. We could have broken every stud and still installed the Stage 1. I'd personally rather buy and install a performance exhaust myself than pay someone hourly to get the rusted broken studs out just to reinstall the stock manifolds.

[gamerguy51]

Wait a tick guys...why remove the studs if the nuts come off? Or is it a foregone conclusion that the nuts are seized? The studs actually are not very rusty...car has been garaged for 30 years and driven about 1000 miles in that time period...plus I think the exhaust was replaced in 01 at DMCH. I'll have to check my repair records to be sure. Also, how the hell are you supposed to get in there with a friggen MIG welder? I can solder, but i've never welded anything, much less manifold studs and nuts....You guys are scaring me. haha

[dn010]

It all just depends: Sometimes the nut will come off and the stud will stay, sometimes the stud will come out with the nut, and sometimes if it is bad they will snap leaving you with the rest of the stud down in the aluminum head. I just removed manifolds off a PRV over the weekend and all of the studs stayed in the head, nothing broke and it was a glorious day.

You are looking for a shop to do it so this doesn't matter, but for those who will be trying this yourselves, soak the nuts in PB or similar for a while, then heat the studs with a torch prior to your removal attempt (I like to run the engine before any exhaust work to heat everything up) and wear gloves. Before I had an acetylene torch, I've gotten by using a MAPP gas torch from a hardware store. Even if the studs/nuts don't look bad or just look like it has "surface rust", starting to wrench on them can turn into a nightmare real fast in some cases.

Exhaust work is right up there with "fixing electrical problems" in the things that I HATE doing column. I'd rather rebuild automatic transmissions all day long.

[DMCMW Dave]

Wait a tick guys...why remove the studs if the nuts come off? Or is it a foregone conclusion that the nuts are seized? The studs actually are not very rusty...car has been garaged for 30 years and driven about 1000 miles in that time period...plus I think the exhaust was replaced in 01 at DMCH. I'll have to check my repair records to be sure. Also, how the hell are you supposed to get in there with a friggen MIG welder? I can solder, but i've never welded anything, much less manifold studs and nuts....You guys are scaring me. haha

Take a close look at the studs, if they have rusted and are "thin" at the engine end they must be replaced unless you happen to like doing this job again later. If they are not rusted away, i.e. are full thickness, you can leave them alone but most folks would change them anyway.

Yours is not the usual case, typically people are dealing with original parts.

[jmettee]

Alternative to a big oxyacetylene tank & torch setup. Bernzomatic OX2550KC for ~$60.

Saw it work this weekend & got all the studs out quickly & without breaking (except for 2 that we couldn't reach because we didn't remove the catalytic converter). The torch is small & fits easily to reach past things. I was really impressed.


http://www.bernzomatic.com/item.html?id=30
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-OX2550KC-Oxy-Map-Pro-Torch-Kit-331673/203391033

[Bitsyncmaster]

Alternative to a big oxyacetylene tank & torch setup. Bernzomatic OX2550KC for ~$60.

Saw it work this weekend & got all the studs out quickly & without breaking (except for 2 that we couldn't reach because we didn't remove the catalytic converter). The torch is small & fits easily to reach past things. I was really impressed.


http://www.bernzomatic.com/item.html?id=30
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-OX2550KC-Oxy-Map-Pro-Torch-Kit-331673/203391033

I don't think you get much oxygen in those cylinders. Cutting will use it up faster. There are small torch and tanks sold by your local gas vender or elsewhere. I have one of those and I think it cost less than $300 all ready to go (tanks filled).

I guess it all depends how often you will use it.

[jmettee]

I don't think you get much oxygen in those cylinders. Cutting will use it up faster. There are small torch and tanks sold by your local gas vender or elsewhere. I have one of those and I think it cost less than $300 all ready to go (tanks filled).

I guess it all depends how often you will use it.

Yep, this is definitely the "low use, store it in a drawer" option. But it's cost effective & still helps relieve the headache of a Delorean exhaust gasket replacement.

[David T]

Yep, this is definitely the "low use, store it in a drawer" option. But it's cost effective & still helps relieve the headache of a Delorean exhaust gasket replacement.

Because it has 2 tanks, one of them oxygen, it will get things hot enough, the only problem is you may need more of them, usually you use the Oxygen two to one of each Acetylene (or propane). It does look attractive to a homeowner or hobbyist who would need them only rarely. All of the same safety precautions apply that apply to a bigger set. Eye protection, watch out for collateral damage from heat, fire, burning yourself, etc.

[DMCMW Dave]

Eye protection, watch out for collateral damage from heat, fire, burning yourself, etc.

Really?

[Delorean Industries]

Really?

hahahha.

[Farrar]

Really?

:cheers:

[Exolis]

He looked and found my suspected exhaust leak and then said...that sucks. Hope you can find a guy to get that off(exhaust manifold). Have a nice day. Uhhhh, is it REALLY that difficult guys? Let me know!

Sometimes places won't want to work on something like a DeLorean because they become liable for it. When I got new tires for mine, the manager said to bring in the rims as he doesn't want to be responsible for anything that could happen.

[whocruiser]

watch out for collateral damage from heat, fire, burning yourself, etc.

LOL, yeah. Like the legal-eze warning on the charcoal lighter cans, "Do not use near fire or flame!" Well, duh! :banghead:

[opethmike]

I wish that Dave T. had given me this information earlier; this happened to me last week:

33781

[Farrar]

Sorry about your collateral damage, Mike. I hope you had a good insurance policy on your body.

[David T]

I mentioned safety precautions because someone using that kind of a set-up probably is not familiar with this kind of work and would not know you need eye protection from the brightness of the flame. When using eye protection you cannot see flame so if you set something nearby on fire you would not notice it visually. Anyone using a traditional set-up would know this stuff. Maybe it seems obvious to most of us but not all of us are used to using an Oxy-Acetalyne torch.

[opethmike]

Can't hear you guru, busy being on fire.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Luckily you were wearing proper safety equipment as David suggested so he really got you out of the fire on this one. Who needs a tanning salon when you can get the job done faster and cheaper like this!
Rob


I wish that Dave T. had given me this information earlier; this happened to me last week:

33781