That's exactly where I am and I couldn't seem to get a wrench long enough to hook around the standard one. I pulled as much as I could from around the turbo so actually have a lot of room now, but I soak the nuts with a penetration fluid mixture that is (according to research) more effective than the ones we've used in the past. It's a 50/50 mix of type A tranny fluid and acetone in a spray bottle. It really gets inside to loosen things up.

 

Are you following Clark's guide? I did and no problem getting any bolt there. there are some shields (protecting the steering rack), o2 sensor, and other stuff to get out of the way which make not too bad (in 951 terms).

 

Don't make it harder than necessary. Don't try to separate the turbo from the downpipe in the car. Just remove the turbo+downpipe as one unit. Then clamp in a vise and separate them later.

 

Well it's good to know that:

a) I'm not the only one finding this a colossal and nerve-wracking pain in the ***
b) that so many brothers-in-944 have been able to make progress, even if it takes a while

I've now removed one of the four bolts on the turbo exhaust intake, which wasn't too bad. The reverse-direction bolt with the welded nut is still there - I can get a spanner on it from below, but can't apply enough torque to it... but I can see that's do-able.

But the other two bolts are giving me trouble. In both cases I've used a socket and breaker bar on the bolt head, and a spanner to hold the nut on the back, and in both cases it has rounded the nut. As there's so little room in there, I'm nor sure what the best way to proceed is... maybe try a small weld to hold the nut, as with the reverse-direction bolt? But I'm not wild about the idea of welding right there. Or maybe I can cut the bolt heads off with an angle grinder?

 

There are sockets designed specifically for rescuing rounded off bolt heads. I use them in cases like this where there's a risk of damaging a bolt head, as they "bite" into the bolt head and won't allow it to round off. They've been real valuable in this case.

When you say reverse direction bolt you mean it's orientation on the flange, not the direction of turn, right? I'd hate to think they changed the thread direction just to drive me crazy

I'd also recommend the 50/50 acetone/Type A soak with a whack on each nut with an extention and hammer to "wake up" the nut before preoceeding further. Let the penetrant soak for a night and see if you get relief. It has worked for me.

Taking a sanity break today to watch the Endurance race at Silverstone.

 

It's always "one bolt" that takes forever to get beyond when you're trying to make progress. That little one on the bottom of the brake booster heat shield was a 1 hr pain in the butt.

 

If you can get an angle grinder in, you might be able to get a Dremel in easier? I'd suggest trying a 1" cut off wheel to get them out. Bolts are pretty cheap?

 

+1 on the rescue sockets... bought a set of Irwin Bolt Grips a while back and the couple of times I've used them they've been awesome. Really worthwhile. Trouble is, the rounded nuts are on the turbo side, and while I might be able to get a socket onto one of them, the other will only accept an open-ended spanner.

 

Trpl 7 Don't worry about the fire hazard..I heat the bolt or nut with a propane torch..use the mini-flame ones, then after it gets hot (not cherry red though) I spray it good with PB and if it catches fire, just have a wet rag handy..the flame is limited..even works on getting wheel cylinders off of backing plates...and if you use the Irwin "bite" sockets, use them with a breaker bar..if they lose grip with an impact wrench, it will turn into a lathe and round things off even more...jus sayin..

 

Yup, good point. I plan on replacing all the fasteners in there anyhoo... be crazy not too. Just wish the locking nuts weren't £5 (~$7) each... but as this is a job I don't want to do again anytime soon, I'll err on the side of caution and probably get the Porsche-supplied bits here.

 

Lindsey Racing has a turbo kit that includes seals and all the mounting nuts and bolts. I already had the seals but they broke down a bolt kit and it was around $80. It just simplified things for me. The one bolt that has the nut welded in acutally popped but then I ran out of room to use the box-end wrench on it. I'll buy an flex handle ratchet tomorrow and finish this thing.

 

So...

An Irwin grabby socket on the rounded nut on the turbo side did the trick for one of the problem bolts.

A small weld on the nut that won't take a socket did the trick for that one. But if you try this, don't leave an oily rag stuffed in your dipstick hole. ;-)

I've loosened the nuts on the underside of the downpipe to exhaust flange, so I know that they'll come off OK.

Which leaves the reverse direction bolt (not reverse thread direction... axis of bolt pointing in the opposite direction to the other 3) to remove. I've had a socket and a spanner on it, but still can't apply enough torque to turn it.

 

…and finally got the reversed bolt out!

1/2-inch drive flex head breaker bar and 6-point socket at first, with a short length of aluminium tube for extra leverage. But given the very limited room in there, and the torque required, it was very slow and aggravating work.

Once I'd backed it out a few turns, a ratchet spanner did the rest.

 

I just spent $60 for a long handle, flex head drive ratchet (Kobalt) and it helped everything come apart. Even a banjo bolt on top of the power steering rack (rebuilt one on order) and the down-pipe flange. I didn't want to spend the money but I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it for this car. This has sure been a struggle and it's not over, I'm sure. Right now I'm trying to get the tie rod ends off and they're not cooperating, even with the pickle fork.

 

I don't suppose you might have a link to some outfit that sells these magical things you might wish to share with the unenlightened?