Date: Sun, 18 May 2008 12:05:34 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Shazam <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: exhaust bolts / studs... tips or tricks?
In-Reply-To: <c4e7c5f90805180940i597aa6a2sb37c6e0ff1d493fd@mail.gmail.com>
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Well it depends if you are dealing with a nut on a stud ( very easy to deal
with relatively speaking )
Or a bolt threaded into the head.
They go in a long way too, like 1.5 inches, even more.
Stock, the start out with studs and nuts on one end of the head, bolts on
the other.
First, the BEST penetrating oil, bar none is called PB Blaster.
Penetrating catalyst,
Nothing else even comes close.
It is twice as good as Gunk's liquid wrench say.
Yes, spray it on the bolts in question twice or 3 times a day for two weeks.
Without driving the van.
Heating a nut till it's read hot.........WITH A OXY ACCETYLINE torch works
like a dream.
Propane is spitting into the wind in my book.
MAP gas - a hotter 'home gas bottle' type torch is a little better.
What I do is oxy-aceetylne on nut - make it red hot in 25 seconds or
whatever , unscrew it - no big deal.
On the bolts, heat the head red hot, let it cool.
Do that a few times.
When you do put your tight fitting wrench or 6 point socket on
it..........sometimes you can't actually tell if you are unscrewing the
bolt, or just twisting the head off.
See below for more tricks here.
Sometimes the bolt head will just break off. Which is the last thing you
want of course. Drilling and taping........dental work.......... is hard
enough with the engine out of the van......in the van, you could be there a
week ( exaggerating ) drilling out the old rusted bolt.
I also notch out the push rod tube covers top brackets where they go on the
bolt or under a nut. .
That way, you only have to loosen the nut or bolt, not remove it completely.
With the lower bolts holding it on .......and one top bracket ,
It's not going anywhere particularly
On the left side, where I know I might have to remove it ..........i might
not even bother to have one of the top securing points under a bolt head.
And I am a NUT about every last screw and washer being in place PERFECTLY on
the whole van - but the difficulty that rusted exhaust studs and nuts can
present ........and they just rust from exhaust heat cycles, and if you are
in a bad environment - like salty roads.....you can really be screwed about
getting exhaut bolts out
,
There is no need to treat those push rod covers like they hold the cylinder
heads on !
Yes, you want to protect the pushrods from rocks and road salt and they must
be on there, but they do not have to be bolted down at all 4 corners at 22
ft. lbs each bolt or whatever it is.
Also.......in assembly ---------COPPER BASED ANTI-SEIZE.
Aluminum based is the common one to find. Some parts stores have to order
copper based, or you can find it online.
My top fav is the German brand, Wurth - a wholesale type outfit more or
less.........their copper anti-seize I consider the best, though I'm sure an
American brand like Permatex is fine.
Matter of fact, ........i never Mickey mouse stuff - ever !
But if I saw the worlds most rusted in exhaust bolt, holding on a push rod
cover at the top.........I might sneak in there with a tiny cutting wheel
and cut off the bracket at the top of the push rod tube cover.
You could save yourself a WEEK of grief that way, or even taking the head to
a machine shop .........
They're plenty stiff enough - they really only need mounting on the top on
one side.
Btw -
All waterboxer heads should come off every 80,000 miles for a nice valve job
and new 'head gasket's.
ALL used waterboxer engines need that.
ALL waterboxer exhaust valves leak , don't seal that well, after 80K or so.
But really..........be VERY SMART, CAUTIOUS AND CONSERVATIINVE with ,
especially, exhaust bolts. - the studs with nuts are best, and easiest to
deal with.
And you have my endorsement, and I have worked on 500 waterboxer engines,
from the block up, many many times , to cut off one upper bracket in situ
of a push rod tube cover -if the bolt does not want to come out cleanly.
Always notch the top brackets too.
As I said, they don't hold the cylinder heads on , and they'll stay in place
just fine with 3 attaching points if you need to do that.
Scott Daniel Foss
www.turbovans.comm
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
neil N
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2008 9:41 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: exhaust bolts / studs... tips or tricks?
AFAIK, you want to heat the nut so it expands. Check the archives on
this though (within the last year there were posts that I saw
regarding this)
As has been said, use penetrating "oil". WD40 is not penetrating oil.
Also work it in with a steel bristle brush and use it to clean the
crud off the threads that are exposed. One of those cheep plastic
brushes should suffice if you hold it near the head. It won't snap as
soon.
Be judicial about the amount of torque you apply to the wrench.
Years ago, I learned (one of the few things I was ever "taught" about
wrenching) that when loosening/tightening smaller fasteners, one
should keep their hand closer to the head of the wrench when turning.
That way the risk of applying too much torque is lessened. My point:
though you will need to position your hand in the right place so you
can actually apply enough torque to remove the nuts, don't apply too
much torque.
You develope a feel for a stuck bolt that is about to snap, though
sadly, sometimes, it can be too late once you feel that! --- ;^)
Cheers,
Neil.
On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 6:11 AM, Tom Myers <motmyers@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hey Folks
>
> I will be working replacing my pushrod tins soon as part of the oil
pressure gauge installation.
>
> [ 1990 2.1]
>
> i do not relish the idea of snapping off an exhaust bolt in my driveway.
>
> so are there some tricks for getting these things off?
>
> WD40 for a week? propane torch to the head before attempt? dremel tool
within reach?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> Tom Myers
> Syracuse NY
> 1990 Westy
> 1991 Syncro
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> E-mail for the greater good. Join the i'm Initiative from Microsoft.
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GreaterGood
--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
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