Exhaust Manifold/Turbo Removal

[3vilc]

hi all,
how hard is it to remove the turbo and exhaust manifold on the 3.1td?
One of the top studs has snapped causing the manifold to leak like anything, not to mention the low power and sounding like a tractor
The only practical way to get at it to drill it out seems to be to remove at least the turbo but if im going that far i might as well take the manifold off aswell and clean the mounting faces an put a new gasket on just to get a good seal.
Anyone know how easy it is to get off? can i get all the bolts easy from the top and bottom or is it one of those jobs where it would be handy to have 3 elbows to bend your arm round? trying to gauge how many days i need off work to get it done as i doubt it will pass a warrent like that

[Harry]

If it's anything like the 2.8 it's an act.Is the broken stud a manifold one or one of the four that hold the turbo on the manifold.On the 2.8 I think from memory there are only 2 studs on the manifold.The rest are bolts.To get the manifold/turbo off keep unbolting as you go.You'll find as you get one bit out the way you can get the next bit.Be careful of bolts you can't see and don't get brutal.You'll need a 3/8th drive socket set preferably with 6 point sockets in 10 and 12 mm.Ratchet ring spanners are really useful too.
Good luck,Harry.

[3vilc]

its on the manifold but obviously the turbo has to come off to get at the manifold bolts easier.. i think its meant to be a bolt..i agree most engines ive worked on only have 2 actualy studs on the manifolds to make it easier to line the rest of the bolts up.. its the top bolt at the front, but theres not quite enough room to get a drill into it straight so i think easier to just pull the whole lot off and drill it right out and re-tap the hole. the heat doesnt 'appear' to have corroded any of the nuts/bolts too badly so all should be fairly easy once i can get at them. ive been thinking about getting a set of ratchet spanners anyway so i guess its a good excuse to go get a set

[3vilc]

im not going to complain though.. for what i paid for my truck compared to the price car yards are still charging, the few problems are all cheap fixes for someone with the know-how, just time consuming.

[Harry]

The 2.8 exhaust manifold gasket is made of several layers of thin sheet spot welded together and to a backing which holds them all in place re the ports.Once the gasket has been on for a while the spot welds break and when you take the manifold off the now individual gaskets go all over the place.I don't know if the 3.1 is the same but if you're planning on just moving the manifold out a bit and you want to reuse the gasket replace the bolts with longer ones as you take them out.If any of the broken stud/bolt is proud of the head you may be able to get it with long nose vise grips or pliers.It's only broken from expansion/contraction so it shouldn't be very tight to turn.
Good luck,Harry.