Removing manifolds...
Discussion
Hi all,
I was just wondering how easy it is to remove and replace a set of manifolds? I am about to buy the decat y-piece and sports manifolds from ACT with a view to doing it over the weekend... Could I get away with doing the prep on one day and replacement on the next? How involved is the job, are the bolts really that tricky or is it going to take me days?!
Thanks
Nick
I was just wondering how easy it is to remove and replace a set of manifolds? I am about to buy the decat y-piece and sports manifolds from ACT with a view to doing it over the weekend... Could I get away with doing the prep on one day and replacement on the next? How involved is the job, are the bolts really that tricky or is it going to take me days?!
Thanks
Nick
Nick,
I've just taken mine off in prep for a new cam. It is a pain in the rear, but not as bad as is said I thought. You'll need a shortish 14mm spanner and ideally a small and a longer 14mm socket. I found taking off the front wheels and the car being jacked up enough to reach under it helped, but only 2 each side were real buggers. The rest just required patience as you can only turn it 1/8 of a turn at best. Ball ache, but not that bad..... Both sides took me about 2.5 hours.
Nick
I've just taken mine off in prep for a new cam. It is a pain in the rear, but not as bad as is said I thought. You'll need a shortish 14mm spanner and ideally a small and a longer 14mm socket. I found taking off the front wheels and the car being jacked up enough to reach under it helped, but only 2 each side were real buggers. The rest just required patience as you can only turn it 1/8 of a turn at best. Ball ache, but not that bad..... Both sides took me about 2.5 hours.
Nick
CaptiV8ed said:
Forgot to say, help yourself by giving the bolts a bloody good wd40-ing at a wee while before starting.
WD40 is designed to disperse water (hence the name), proper penetrating oil works better. But the problem is going to be the contortions required to get a spanner on the bolts in the first place, it's not likely to be hard to shift them.
Thanks guys! I'll go give the bolts a try tomorrow and see what i'm in for.. I may just spray some wd40 or similar on several times a day for the week to make sure they dont put up a fight. 2.5 hours sounds pretty quick though so if I can get anywhere close to that i'll be happy!
Nick
Nick
i should know just removed manifolds twice in quick succession
My top tips...
I had to remove the exhaust to get to the NS bottom manifold bolts. Not as major job as you might think - well, not on my precat. If you decide to do this, or pull off the starter motor (see next tip), jack the car up as far as you can get it or you'll be cursing the seat / outrigger bolts when they've ripped a lump out of you or hooked your shirt.
Pull off the starter motor to get to the nearside bottom bolts. It doesn't take much doing but you will need a hex drive to get the stupid bolts out.
Get ARP bolts. They aren't THAT much better than ordinary bolts but a couple of the little swines really are difficult to get to, and the bit of extra room means you can hook a 3/8 ratchet spanner around it whereas the normal bolts you can't use a ratchet.
Get a piece of card and drill 2 rows of 4 holes (4 holes top and 4 holes bottom)
Write TOP at the top and FRONT on the left. Now, as you take each bolt out put it into the corresponding hole in the card.
It might sound a bit daft but it makes sure you don't lose a bolt or washer and more importantly, it means you know where each bolt came from. I had 2 bolts which someone had cut short, I guess because the threads were full of crud and the bolts wouldn't run all the way in. Only I had no idea because I just threw all the old bolts in a bag. It was only when I had problems with a bolt that I fished out the old ones and realised I had a potential problem.
Just to show how time can run away from you on these jobs, it took me 3 hours to clean out 3 cruddy bolt holes.
Order your gaskets now.
Hold your new gaskets to the manifolds with elastic bands, then they can't drop off when you're trying to get the bolts into the head. Don't forget to cut them off before you fire up the engine though.
Run each new bolt into the head and if necessary clean out the threads of any which are difficult to get in. If you think they are difficult to run in with the manifolds off imagine what a fight it will be when you are trying to get it through a manifold and new gasket with just your finger ends.
Here endeth my top tips.
Have fun.
I had to remove the exhaust to get to the NS bottom manifold bolts. Not as major job as you might think - well, not on my precat. If you decide to do this, or pull off the starter motor (see next tip), jack the car up as far as you can get it or you'll be cursing the seat / outrigger bolts when they've ripped a lump out of you or hooked your shirt.
Pull off the starter motor to get to the nearside bottom bolts. It doesn't take much doing but you will need a hex drive to get the stupid bolts out.
Get ARP bolts. They aren't THAT much better than ordinary bolts but a couple of the little swines really are difficult to get to, and the bit of extra room means you can hook a 3/8 ratchet spanner around it whereas the normal bolts you can't use a ratchet.
Get a piece of card and drill 2 rows of 4 holes (4 holes top and 4 holes bottom)
Write TOP at the top and FRONT on the left. Now, as you take each bolt out put it into the corresponding hole in the card.
It might sound a bit daft but it makes sure you don't lose a bolt or washer and more importantly, it means you know where each bolt came from. I had 2 bolts which someone had cut short, I guess because the threads were full of crud and the bolts wouldn't run all the way in. Only I had no idea because I just threw all the old bolts in a bag. It was only when I had problems with a bolt that I fished out the old ones and realised I had a potential problem.
Just to show how time can run away from you on these jobs, it took me 3 hours to clean out 3 cruddy bolt holes.
Order your gaskets now.
Hold your new gaskets to the manifolds with elastic bands, then they can't drop off when you're trying to get the bolts into the head. Don't forget to cut them off before you fire up the engine though.
Run each new bolt into the head and if necessary clean out the threads of any which are difficult to get in. If you think they are difficult to run in with the manifolds off imagine what a fight it will be when you are trying to get it through a manifold and new gasket with just your finger ends.
Here endeth my top tips.
Have fun.
barreti said:
I had 2 bolts which someone had cut short, I guess because the threads were full of crud and the bolts wouldn't run all the way in.
I have a bit of a different take on that....
If you find you cant remove the bolts whilst the flanges are mated - it means someone put the short bolts in the wrong holes
(that means you have to dangle the manifold 1/2" away from the head whilst you fiddle to undo the bolt). When reassembling put the long bolts in first - if there is a clearance problem to get the bolt started you need a short one (thats why they are shorter ) Dave
PS Do the ARP bolts come with the 4 shorter ones ?
The ARP bolts are all the same length, whilst you are on the phone to Tim get his manifold gaskets also.
A tip for remounting, thread some fusewise between the manifold and the gasket through the bolt holes, this will keep them in place whilst you catch the bolts, once the bolts are caught snip the wire and pull it out then tighten as usual.
A tip for remounting, thread some fusewise between the manifold and the gasket through the bolt holes, this will keep them in place whilst you catch the bolts, once the bolts are caught snip the wire and pull it out then tighten as usual.
Hi,
I found aligning manifold gaskets up to the manifolds when off the car and holding them in place with a bit of silicon made fitting a lot easier. When replacing the manifolds replace the bolts only finger tight to start with, this gives enough movement in the manifolds to allow the Y section to to be fitted easily. Also check the bolts after a few runs in the car, I found all my bolts need retightening.
I found aligning manifold gaskets up to the manifolds when off the car and holding them in place with a bit of silicon made fitting a lot easier. When replacing the manifolds replace the bolts only finger tight to start with, this gives enough movement in the manifolds to allow the Y section to to be fitted easily. Also check the bolts after a few runs in the car, I found all my bolts need retightening.
spend said:
barreti said:
I had 2 bolts which someone had cut short, I guess because the threads were full of crud and the bolts wouldn't run all the way in.
I have a bit of a different take on that....
If you find you cant remove the bolts whilst the flanges are mated - it means someone put the short bolts in the wrong holes
(that means you have to dangle the manifold 1/2" away from the head whilst you fiddle to undo the bolt). When reassembling put the long bolts in first - if there is a clearance problem to get the bolt started you need a short one (thats why they are shorter ) Dave
PS Do the ARP bolts come with the 4 shorter ones ?
There are still a couple that a ring spanner won't go on to though, at least on mine. Mileage may vary! The ARP inlet manifold bolt kit that you can get has a similar problem, two of the bolts should be longer but all the ones in the kit are the same length. Good tip on the gaskets/rubber bands Baretti - much easier than growing a third hand!
Your Rover engine (and other bits of the TVR) have imperial fixings... I would recommend that you use the best fitting tools available, dont get into problems rounding bolts / hex sockets. Snap On are well known because of their tolerances ~ not all tools fit so well In fact QA of commonly imported nuts/bolts would quite surprise you as well 
Adding this to using a metric tool for an imperial fixing can cause a lot of pain. Sorry to rant on.... just saying if you save money doing the work yourself - make sure you get at least the right tools
Dave
In fact QA of commonly imported nuts/bolts would quite surprise you as well Adding this to using a metric tool for an imperial fixing can cause a lot of pain. Sorry to rant on.... just saying if you save money doing the work yourself - make sure you get at least the right tools Dave
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