Help - removing the exhaust manifolds

[butty]

Hi,

I have an exhaust blow in or around both manifolds (could be gaskets. I would like to remove them for closer inspection to try to find any cracks or holes.

Can anyone advise me the best way to remove and put back on?

Cheers,

Chris

[mowog]

Did this job on the Griff a few years ago.

You need a good selection of spanners (and maybe somebdody with small hands). Some of the bolts can be accessed from the top, others from the bottom.

This is covered in the bible and extensivley in the forum archives.

Good luck - hope you don't snap a bolt!

Darren

[jamieheasman]

A couple of things : use good quality metal gaskets not the crappy and cheap composite items and silicon sealant (not the exhaust paste that some use) on both the exhaust-to-head join but also on the Y-piece. Also the addition of new bolts with a tapered head and smaller nut make undoing them again a lot easier. I fitted a set of stainless steel items from ARP. They are slightly conical with the nut on the top. Difficult to explain I know!

The whole job is a LOT easier if you have access to a hydraulic lift.

[malloryn]

Give all the bolts a good squirt of WD40 the night before.

[ssc1]

what make of exhaust sealant do you use as i am trying to seal the clamps at the 'y' peice and it is still leaking there.

[ssc1]

was thinking of making up a gasket up for the manifold to 'y' piece joint as its got a leak which wont go away , has anyone tried asbestos type string or a copper seal just to make a perfect seal.

[butty]

Thanks for all the comments. I have bought the ARP bolts and that makes life a hell of a lot easier. However, my current problem is that I can either line up the head end or the Y piece end but not together!! I think I might have to split the exhaust to get enough play.

Cheers,

Chris

[ssc1]

fit the manifolds first to get a good fit against the heads then pull the manifolds onto the 'y' peice with a cargo strap that you can wind up really tight it will pull the manifolds onto the 'y' peice so that the clamps can be fitted. this is the method that TVR power told me to use and it works well.

[butty]

Interesting approach. Hadn't thought of that. I ended up dropping the exhaust (very quick - only 8 bolts) and using a piece of 2.5" x 2.5" timber to align them.

As I still have the nearside to door it would be useful to know where to put the cargo strap.

Cheers,

Chris