3.1TD exhaust mani bolt

[natedogg]

hey guys,

looking for a helping hand,

my 3.1 TD has just snapped one of the exhaust manifold bolts, now it leaks and makes a hell of a noise.

my question is, is there some tips on how best to get the bit thats still in the head out?

problem being its the one closest to the firewall so i cant get my drill in there because of the brake resivour/vaccum thing.

i plan to get and "easy out" which aparently screws the thred out once you have drilled a pilot hole for it, but how do i get the pilot hole in there.

any help muchly appreciated.

Cheers

Nathan

[geeves]

Sometimes garages/mechanics have special tools that can do things we only describe as magic. It might be worth talking to the local mechanic.
If your luck once you take the manifold off there might be a large enough piece to get some vice grips on. Soak in penetrating oil before trying to turn
good luck this might be 1 hour or 10

[daisy]

yeah take manifold and turbo off and you can just get in there (i did that bolt a couple of years ago) make sure you get manifold planed from a engineer and new gasket. once all the stuff is out of the way at least if you cant get it out still you've done all the time consuming work and it should only take a engine shop half an hour saving you a bit of money which can be spent on the tow truck to get it to the shop and back best of luck

[muvit madness]

Hi
Its just a thought but what about a 90 degree angle attachment for your drill with a shortened drill bit?. If that still misses out then another suggestion is to undo the front engine mounts then jack the motor up an inch maybe enough to get the drill bit onto it.

cheers
muvit

[natedogg]

thanks guys,

heaps of good suggestions there.
im going to ring round some places at lunch and see what the pricing is like.

think i may end up doing all the labour intensive stuff (taking everything out - turbo etc) and getting a shop to do the bolt.

will let you guys know how i get on.

Cheers

[isuzumudman]

I have just had exactly the same situation with one of mine. Broke the stud closest to the firewall. Got the drill in. Broke the Ezi-Out. Ended up taking the head off & taking it to a reconditioner. Was a little surprised at the knowing look I was given when they saw the brand of head. Apparently a common problem with 4GJ2TD. I concur with the suggeation of a manifold plane & new gasket. Good luck.

[James W]

Ezi-out

A.K.A Ezi - break

[geeves]

Ok I know easyouts break but if theres no end to grab what are the alternatives?
Ive always been lucky and had a big enough stub to grab hold of with mole grips

[natedogg]

yeah i decided to just let a shop do it.

Got quoted $600NZD to do the whole job, just about had a heart attack so attacked it myself.

Found a shop here in hamilton that comes to your house and will get the bolts out of the head. $20 call out and $60 an hour for labour.

just got new gasget and bolts as well. all up the job will probly cost me $150. (touch wood)

when i got everything unbolted (turbo, manifold, intake etc) i discovered that the two bolts closest to the firewall had snapped!!! lucky i chose to do it now and not leave it till another snaps.

I will let you guys know how i get on.

[James W]

Actually there are a couple of alternatives... and more reliable than ezi-outs. If an ezi-out works then it was not really stuck. Alternatives are drilling with a drill equal to the internal thread size so the thread doesn't get nicked.... can be hard to centre the drill but is easier and more reliable than ezi-out. There should then be a thin wafer of thread from the stud left over than can be easy prised out.... a variation is a reverse twist drill which will often wind out any stud/thread that is left. Worst case is you drill out bigger and re tap up a size of add a helicoil... but you save the head.

Another method not for the faint hearted is to use gas. either oxy-Accelyltne or oxy-lpg. Not so good on small stuff but works very well on big stuff. 1" or bigger. You wouldn't think so but the heat doesn't transfer through to the parent metal and thread and if done carefully doesn't suffer any damage that a wire brush of tap can't clean up. I have done it myself many times. This is the preferred and standard method for removing screwed boiler stays... and standards on pressure vessels like locomotive boilers are high..... usually involves boiler inspectors and certified welders etc.

[slightlydodgy]

heres where you find out why i have this username ;D many moon ago i snapped a manifold bolt on a falcon. I sat an old 1/2 inch nut over the stud (snapped flush with head) and welded the inside of the nut to the stud the nut to grip and the heat did the trick. Use small rods and take it careful.

[geeves]

thats not dodgy Ive seen a similar thing done many times
If there is enough stud showing you can cut it with a hacksaw then wind out with a screwdriver.

[natedogg]

easy out did the trick on this occasion.

manifold and turbo are all back on now with new bolts, gaskets and a fresh planning. just gotta refit all the intake pipes etc now.

thinking of fitting a catch can while everything is apart. but i seem to have two pipes going from the motor into the intake. a bigger rubber one, and a smaller one almost the size of a vaccum line, but im sure has oil in it. I followed the small one back toward the gearbox, but lost it there somewhere.

whats the best way to attach the catch can? obviously on the bigger hose, but what about the smaller one?

can i join them together? or do i need 2 catch cans?

and whats the deal with pressurising the crank case? idealy i should be still putting the vented gasses back into the intake through a catch can? or can i block the intake off completly?

any help appreciated

Nathan

[geeves]

Its hard without photos to be sure if you are looking at the right pipes or not. Itr sounds like you are looking at the 2 pipes that feed oil to the turbo. The correct pipe for fitting the catch can in is the one running from the back of the tappet cover to the pipe between the air cleaner and turbo. Some fancier designs also have a drain pipe back into the dipstick tube but this is optional as long as you remember to empty the catch can from time to time

[natedogg]

im talking about the one you have described. but there is also a smaller line that is inbetween the airfilter and the bigger hose. and this little one feeds back into the intake aswell. (im unsure where it comes from)

[natedogg]

all back together now. running like a dream! (touch wood) all for a total of $252. not bad really. that also includes a catch can.

I traced that smaller hose that goes into the intake (between tappet cover breather and air filter) back to the fuel tank. must be a breather for diesel fumes, they get fed back in thru the intake. Probly another fuel emmision thing?

cheers for all your help guys