cobra06

Having been there before, just wondering if anyone had problems removing bolts on a low mileage car. They have that "rusted stuck look" on the head....and less then 400 miles

JohnnyBahamas

Nope... and I first swapped mine at 10,000+ miles on my C2S. Smooth in and out. Torque to 19 lb. ft. at the heads; 22 lb. ft. at the flanges. Everything is 13mm. Flange nuts on top of the pipe are a bit of a bear due to the approach angle so a "elbow joint" type 3/8" ratchet attachment came in handy. Expect a single "crack" to loosen and then back them out with your finger tips.

Don't be surprised if the cat flanges don't mate up flush with the header collector flange the first time out.

Simply loosen the muffler can mounting bolts a 1/4" or so to give the cat flanges some slack, mate the cat flanges up, then retighten the muffler can mounting bolts.

Took me a whole day of staring and swearing to figure that one out... seems obvious now though.

Good luck.

Sharptt

Thanks for the helpful tip. Probably would have taken me a day or so to figure that also. Can anyone confirm the torque settings? My local Porsche tech told me to go 35 ft. lbs at the heads and 15 at the flanges. 19 at the heads sounds pretty low but I sure wouldn't want to snap a bolt.

cobra06

thanks
I eyeballed it and it looks pretty straight-forward, the flange tip seems like a real time saver. I really didn't want to hear torch or helicoils involved with the swap process.

Edgy01

When reassembling them consider using Anti-Seize on the threads.

99firehawk

break the header bolts loose with a snapping motion you dont want to twist them off you want to break them loose.
always replace them, i perer regualr grade 8 hardware and always use anti sieze.
I broke a bolt on 2200 mile cayman a few months ago, no year or milage is safe

cobra06

I use anti-seize on everything but the spark plugs. What size bolts are they?
I was planning on using my 3/8" impact to break them loose.

99firehawk

use a long 3/8s extension with a deep well 13mm 6 pt socket and a breaker bar.
thats what i use and i dont have too many problems.
just dont resuse the old bolts

JohnnyBahamas

Loren over at Renntech.org is a master of all knowledge, he can verify the torque numbers and just about anything else Porsche.

Whatever you do, don't over torque a steel bolt set in aluminum threads. The steel bolt will not snap first, the aluminum threads will likely pull straight out of the aluminum head like a little slinky first.

That's a sick feeling.

cobra06

Porsche in the past offered "Specification" manuals, booklets with all the torque and engine specs. Wish they still did that, I think they stopped mid-90,s

Todd at AWE recommended 25 ft/lbs for the header bolts.

99firehawk

i assure you that those header bolts will snap before you pull aluminum threads
BUT
Exhaust manifold on cylinder head
M8 x 28
23 nm (17ft lbs )

Dan_997

Interesting comments. When I installed the AWE exhaust on my 997s, the Porsche book indicated 17 ft lbs and AWE spec'd 19 ft lbs for the header bolts. I used 18 ft lbs.

My car had 6,500 miles and all the exhaust connectors came off with no problems.

Good luck with your install.

JohnnyBahamas

I believe you. I stand corrected. In my own defense though I have pulled the threads out of aluminum with a steel fastener before, only once, but I did it when I misread "lbs. feet" and "lbs. inches" in the manual... though that was not a set of Porsche heads. That was a bad day. Don't want anyone to re-live that day.

Sharptt

Good idea. Copper or Titanium Anti-seize would be a good choice.