New bolts or studs?

[poorpeet]

When I do the exhaust gaskets would it be better to replace the bolts with studs & nuts or is there a reason why TVR use bolts eg lack of room?

[poorpeet]

Any ideas anybody?

[spend]

No room for studs on mine, in fact there is no clearance on 2 +2 to get the bolts in if the faces are mated (might not get nuts on if you use studs?) A couple of studs to hang the manifold on when you offer it up might help, but for me it was tight to get the manifolds out of the car even when all bolts were removed. Had to strip swirls tank + alternator mount so manifolds could be squeezed out. Every one is different, you probably had no response because there is not a definitive answer.

Dave

[mongoose]

could you use stainless bolts instead of the steel ones,or could this cause problems?

[spend]

Aren't zinc coated more resistant to rust than (cheap) stainless? Tensile strength of stainless is something to be wary of, nice for show but I'm sticking to the high tensile fasteners for critical parts.

Dave

[shpub]

Just use a dash of Copperease on the bolts and they come out just dandy. Don't like studs as the threads can corrode quite badly.

Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk

[poorpeet]

Cheers

[spend]

BTW, I was advised to always use new lock washers.

I used some extra long bolts which made it easier to handle and line up during assembly. The manifold could then be eased in & out whilst getting the middle 2 bolts in which had limited access to remove/insert. All the time keeping the gaskets in place etc... Then simply replace with correct bolts when happy.

I only realised I could do this on the second side... after the usual wish I had 10 hands - and they all belonged to a weight lifting gynaecologist!

HTH, Dave