sam08861

Ok, so only 2 bolts are preventing me from pulling the head to replace a blown headhasket.

These are the 2 that are in the center of the crossover/header flange. (The 2 where the 2 triangular flanges meet). I have an 86 turbo, so assume I have the worst possible combination of crossover/crossmember, etc.

How the f&*2 does one get these last two m*(&(*(&(*s off? They seem to be blocked by the collector pipe itself and don't provide much access to the lower nuts.

I can get a flexhead 13mm ratchet onto the tops of the bolts, but can't quite figure out what combination of extensions, etc. to use to remove the nuts.

I've remove all the nuts from the headers at the head and am thinking of double nutting these to try and them off, but don't want to do this if it's there's a good risk of shearing one of these off in the head. (already did this with the hex head bolt that hold the coolant return to the waterpump)

I know this has been asked before but searching the archives didn't turn up any specfic suggestions for these. Any advice greatly appreciated.

chrenan

No magic from me, I've had them off a number of times, I like to counter hold with and S wrench, I find those handy for this job.

dizzyj

Long estention with a universal from below. Box wrench from above. I never have too much difficulty with these

sam08861

Thanks all. I'll try again tomorrow night with long extensions/universal joints.

Paulyy

if they're to tight. put the rest back on like you normally would. then take the 2 off then the rest. basically you're putting less stress on 2 bolts trying to remove them.

V2Rocket

if you put your jack (with a pad) under the passenger side of the oil pan and gently lift a bit, and get a nice soft but strong pry tool (against the old gaskets and not the head), you can slide the manifolds off the head studs without having to unbolt the collector/crossover...

gpr8er

This is a Mac impact universal 13mm 3/8 drive you can get the same thing at Harbor Freight practically for nothing as compared to the Mac tool then put the impact on it and they're either going to come off or snap out of there lol
Sometimes a Special Tool makes life easy....

V2Rocket

unless you're dealing with a BMW

jmj951

+1 I think the key to this is along the same lines as Paulyy's recommendation - I always start off with the most difficult ones first.

I didn't have too much trouble with these, and I've removed them twice. It is a bit difficult because you can't see what you need to hold onto on top, but you can get a closed-end wrench on it and hold it there with one hand while you work on the bottom.

Tom M'Guinn

I just did mine. I used a 13mm box end wrench on top (you have to work to find an angle where you can get the wrench on fully engaged, but you can...if not, get a shorter wrench), and then used a 13mm socket from below on a short (maybe 3") wobble head extension and a second longer (maybe 9") wobble head extension connected to that. The combination of wobbles allows you to sneak around the pipes from below.

rlm328

They are one of the reasons I now have a V-Band. They either need to be removed or tightened both a pain.

sam08861

Thanks again everyone. Looks like I'm headed to harbor fraught on my lunch tomorrow. I see their wobble extension set is on sale.

In the meantime, I'll try jacking the engine on the passenger side as suggested and report back if I'm successful.

sam08861

lol! Haven't seen that on page one for a while. At the risk of derailing my own thread, whatever happened? I'll have to search the forums.

gruhsy

An electric impact once broken loose works well. I recently pulled the cross-over on the car I'm working on with one using long extension and universal socket. Hold other end of bolt with stubby wrench.

Way easier on the arms.