Argeo

Any suggestions on getting these bolts out of the exhaust flange? I ground off the bolts thinking I could pop out. No luck.

cds72911

They have splines and are pressed in with an interference fit. You can knock them out with a punch and hammer. I do this in a vise, removed from the vehicle.

Bash Hat

Looks pretty corroded. Pipe too. Is it worth going with new headers?

rileyracing1

That flange is pooched why the heck would you even bother ...Look into getting a either getting a two piece replacement flange or replace the damn header / pipe it looks like it's half dead anyway.

pdxmotorhead

I find that using a torch to heat jut the edge of a flange will often get them loose enough to punch out,,
failing that,,
I use a right angle drill and drill them out.. You cant use a cheat bit . Slow and steady gets it done.
Cant see the whole header,, but it looks like you at least need to pull the header and clean it,,
Its 40 bucks to have them sand blasted,, that will tell if they are beyond use..

Ignoring rust parts never gets better,, you will have to contend with getting the header bolts off the heads eventually..

Sometimes, I use a dremel, with cutter wheel; to get the nuts off.

Or

Be gentle lots of patience, heat then cool with
PB blaster,, do it several times, put the blaster on when you can almost touch the fasteners bare
handed, as it cools it will suck the lubricant in to the threads,, I use my small 12V cordless impact to help
rattle things loose, small easy hits... Again its kind of a zen activity..

Argeo

Thanks guys. It’s my son’s Miata so I just want to get the new muffler off and call it done. I’ll give the heat a try and then try drilling. I don’t want to take off car, that would just head down a road I’m not ready for. Worse case I’ll take to my mechanic and let him do his magic.

Thanks everyone. Merry Christmas, happy holidays.

Argeo

Curious, does this happen to cars that are not in salted areas? Does Just rain water do this?

Coopduc

Rain water alone would not do that. IMO that car has seen some heavy salt at some point in its life.

dan_189

Thought I was going crazy - didn't think that was the underside of a 996...

Porschetech3

Argeo

Something like this? Maybe I can get a loner.

Porschetech3

Yes that should work well, you may have to improvise on the press pieces ( using old sockets) but will work well.

Argeo

Okay I got loner to try. So just to be clear, heat flange with torch, not bolt and then apply pressure with tool. Should I use impact wrench or breaker bar?
thanks.

Argeo

Porschetech3

You wont need to heat things up with that press tool. Using the torch will probably end up burning your fingers/hand..

Don't use an impact, it will make things jump out of position, no need for a breaker bar, a hand wrench will do.