Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Frozen Bolt in Manifold, FIXED, Thanks


Recommended Posts

I am trying to remove the exhaust manifold from my DD, Monsoon. I have five bolts out. The bolt near Cylinder 5 was more or less welded to the the manifold.

IMG_0306.jpg

After two days or so of PB Blaster and some scraping, it looked like this:

IMG_0307.jpg

The head of the bolt was smaller and an odd shape, I tried every type of socket, but nothing would grip. Then, with the help of a friend, we used an angle grinder to cut the head of the bolt off.

At that point, the manifold would move up and down on an axis with bolt 5 turning in the head but frozen to the manifold.

Thinking the bolt was frozen at the manifold, we tried drilling and a combination of heating (butane Yellow can) and cooling. No fun yet. This is what it looks like now.

What's next:

A) heat the bolt only with a cutting torch?

B) heat the manifold with a cutting torch?

C) Cut the manifold with a cutting torch around the area where the bolt is frozen?

D) any better ideas would be appreciated

88CDF3CB-F79C-4C55-B3B6-08B89F88F701-1257-0000007016C6A263.jpg

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Bozboat
Link to comment

yours looks the exact same as mine did. I was able to get the bolt out using special sockets that are made to grab messed up bolt heads. when I got them out, the bolt and threads were fine, it was just the head that was rusted to the manifold. So I'm guessing that yours should be similar. Meaning that once you free the rusted part of the bolt from the manifold, that it will come out. Heating it a lot (Acetylene) "may" free it from the rust and allow you to pull the manifold off. and then remove the bolt with vise grips. Other wise, with nothing to grap, you should be able to drill the bolt about 1/2 way through the manifold which should free it up. The other option as you asked, is to cut the manifold, but you need to be really careful to not go to far (into the head). cutting the bottom right corner should free it.

Edited by zone 5
Link to comment

You don't want to heat the bolt because that will make it expand. You want to heat the area around the bolt but try to keep the bolt as cold as possible. That will make the manifold expand at a different rate than the bolt and hopefully break the rust. Then drill a hole right down the middle of the bolt and use a correct sized "easy out". As you're heating the area around the bolt start trying to free it up. An easy out has left handed threads so as your turning it in, it will start turning the bolt out. good luck

Link to comment

I would heat up the area all around the bolt with an oxy acetelene (sp?) torch. When the area around the bolt is cherry red, shock the actual bolt with a spray bottle of water. Squirt a shot of water right on the bolt.

Before any of this heating, I would remove all those plug wires and cover up anything below the area that might get a hot ember on it. Put a trash towel or something over top of anything below the area including the carpet.

Link to comment

You don't want to heat the bolt because that will make it expand. You want to heat the area around the bolt but try to keep the bolt as cold as possible. That will make the manifold expand at a different rate than the bolt and hopefully break the rust. Then drill a hole right down the middle of the bolt and use a correct sized "easy out". As you're heating the area around the bolt start trying to free it up. An easy out has left handed threads so as your turning it in, it will start turning the bolt out. good luck

I will try drilling a small hole, I bought the most powerful steel cutting bit I could get yesterday and scratched the bolt some before I burned up the bit.

Link to comment

A titanium bit should cut through that steel. I would start, like you said, by drilling a small hole and then proggressively drilling bigger holes until there's not much bolt left. It's a balancing act because you want the biggest "easy out" that you can get but you need enough bolt left for it to grab on to. From my experience, small easy out's just snap off and then you're screwed.

Link to comment

about 3 inches

Thanks! While I was looking at my bolts for yours, I saw that my replacement exhaust was only 2 1/2 inches, and thought something was different. Now I get to check with my dealer and see if its gonna work.

Link to comment

I will try drilling a small hole, I bought the most powerful steel cutting bit I could get yesterday and scratched the bolt some before I burned up the bit.

As Dtrost said, Titanium, or better yet Cobalt in really small to start. The bolts are hardened and a royal pain to drill. Thats why heating the exhaust with a torch may be your best option now, and hoping it expands enough to let you pull it over the bolt.

Do you have that bolt ground down enough so that the head is totally gone? and its just the rust holding it on? or is there some head left?

Link to comment

Kroil oil may be another option to soak it in over night.

I'd advise the oxy/acetylene torch as well, but it could prove to be hazardous in your boat! Be careful! Once you get it hot ( I don't think it has to be cherry red) give the bolt a few good hits with BFH and it might knock it loose enough to come out on its own.

Link to comment

All you need to do it get the bolt head off. Once the bolt head is off, you should be able to remove the manifold leaving the bolt shank available to remove the rest of the threaded portion.

Easy outs are a nice idea, but they're far from perfect. If you break the easy out off in the hole you just drilled then you're really pretty screwed.

I would just drill the head off the bolt using progressively larger drill bits. Try really hard to get the first drill hole properly centered (use a punch to start it).

No heat needed.

Good luck.

Link to comment

Instead of heating it up, maybe try freezing the bolt with this stuff...http://www.amazon.co...6/dp/B001VXU474.

I'm sure it will work, the Shadetree Mechanic (or some such show) I watched this morning said it would work! :thumbup:

I need a bottle of the quick freeze no matter what.

Have you tried hitting it wiht PB Blaster or something similar? I'be had good luck wiht it in the past...let it soak over night.

Two days on the PB blaster before I cut the head of the bolt off

A titanium bit should cut through that steel. I would start, like you said, by drilling a small hole and then proggressively drilling bigger holes until there's not much bolt left. It's a balancing act because you want the biggest "easy out" that you can get but you need enough bolt left for it to grab on to. From my experience, small easy out's just snap off and then you're screwed.

The bolt is not stuck in the valve head, just stuck to the manifold. So if I can get the manifold loose on the bolt, the manifold should slide off and leave the bolt sticking out of the head, then I can take it out with vice grips

As Dtrost said, Titanium, or better yet Cobalt in really small to start. The bolts are hardened and a royal pain to drill. Thats why heating the exhaust with a torch may be your best option now, and hoping it expands enough to let you pull it over the bolt.

I burned up two cobalt drill bits Saturday.

Do you have that bolt ground down enough so that the head is totally gone? and its just the rust holding it on? or is there some head left?

I will check on this, I believe so, but after drilling on this, there might be some disformation holding it on.

Kroil oil may be another option to soak it in over night.

I'd advise the oxy/acetylene torch as well, but it could prove to be hazardous in your boat! Be careful! Once you get it hot ( I don't think it has to be cherry red) give the bolt a few good hits with BFH and it might knock it loose enough to come out on its own.

No gas on board, no gas tank, no interior, nothing but the Monsoon left on board at this point. It looks like something off Deadlyist Catch. Still I will be careful. I had a small torch but it will not heat it enough to make much difference. Going to visit a friend with a pawn shop tomorrow and see what's available.

Link to comment

All you need to do it get the bolt head off. Once the bolt head is off, you should be able to remove the manifold leaving the bolt shank available to remove the rest of the threaded portion.

Easy outs are a nice idea, but they're far from perfect. If you break the easy out off in the hole you just drilled then you're really pretty screwed.

I would just drill the head off the bolt using progressively larger drill bits. Try really hard to get the first drill hole properly centered (use a punch to start it).

No heat needed.

Good luck.

That was the plan, cut the head of the bolt off and slide the manifold off. Now with the head of the bolt off, and all the other bolts out, the manifold will rotate on the number five bolt, the bolt turns with the manifold. So it appears that the last inch or so, from the head of the bolt in, is fused with the manifold

Link to comment

I will check on this, I believe so, but after drilling on this, there might be some disformation holding it on.

burned up cobalt. ouch!

Yea, I've had a few times where I just couldn't get something off. I was amazed by how little metal it takes to hold it in place. beat on it and it wouldn't come free. trying to grind too much. ground just a bit more, and it fell off the bolt.

Link to comment

This is not the fix for you but. Some interesting info..

Here is an interesting article addressing 'Penetrating Oils'. Recently “Machinist Workshop Magazine” did a test on penetrating oils. Using nuts and bolts that they ‘scientifically rusted’ to a uniform degree by soaking in salt water, they then tested the break-out torque required to loosen the nuts. They treated the nuts with a variety of penetrants and measured the torque required to loosen them.

This is what they came up with:

Nothing: 516 lbs

WD-40: 238 lbs;

PB Blaster: 214 lbs;

Liquid Wrench: 127 lbs,

Kano Kroil: 106 lbs

(ATF)/Acetone mix (50/50): 50 lbs.

This last “shop brew” of 50% automatic transmission fluid and 50% acetone appears to beat out the commercially prepared products costing far more.

  • Like 3
Link to comment

This is not the fix for you but. Some interesting info..

Here is an interesting article addressing 'Penetrating Oils'. Recently “Machinist Workshop Magazine” did a test on penetrating oils. Using nuts and bolts that they ‘scientifically rusted’ to a uniform degree by soaking in salt water, they then tested the break-out torque required to loosen the nuts. They treated the nuts with a variety of penetrants and measured the torque required to loosen them.

This is what they came up with:

Nothing: 516 lbs

WD-40: 238 lbs;

PB Blaster: 214 lbs;

Liquid Wrench: 127 lbs,

Kano Kroil: 106 lbs

(ATF)/Acetone mix (50/50): 50 lbs.

This last “shop brew” of 50% automatic transmission fluid and 50% acetone appears to beat out the commercially prepared products costing far more.

This is one of the many reasons TMC rocks!!

Link to comment

I had a friend come help me tonight. It was stuck like Chuck. Basically just cut chunks out until we got past the frozen part and then removed the manifold. The bolt in the head was less than finger tight. New Manifolds and Risers from Bakes Black Friday Sale will be here tomorrow.

06FA6B90-FDC7-412A-89F1-5A90A6D489D0-4870-000002C02DF2ED07.jpg

5E720197-ABB5-44AE-881C-7A1065FEBA9C-4870-000002C034572872.jpg

5258216A-5D5A-4BA1-87BD-72CBCBA7EB1D-4870-000002C04EEA1CC4.jpg

65F91BA2-737F-4C4E-BCC9-5D6358708E14-4870-000002C048F3A817.jpg

Edited by Bozboat
Link to comment

Wow! You guys went ape on it. No amount of PB or easy out's would've budged that thing. Good thing you have new mani's on their way. Thanks for the update. Good luck

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...