Hey-
I'm in the middle of replacing the studs, and I need some help with the ones in back. I read thru some older posts (which took a while to find..) and noticed that Matt said to drop the crossmember and lower the engine, which should give access to the rear bank. I'm looking at it from underneath,and I just can't see that working...seems like there's just not enough room. especially if you have something under there to support the engine when the crossmember is off.

I e-mailed Matt, but just wondering if anyone else can add anything...

The fronts were not too bad- 2 broken studs, but got those out no problem.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Hey,

I had a few posts going a while back. I'm not sure if i touched on this. I'm pretty sure the cross member has got to go. Also, I think an angle drill of some sort will be your solution. Good luck...

 

Yeah, I've got the angle drill. Worked great on the fronts, no issues. Just finished putting the front back on. I'm figuring the crossmember does have to go, but I'm afraid to do that without supporting the engine somehow..and still having enough room to work.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=277441

got it bookmarked fuji

 

THAT'S IT !!!! that's the one I was looking for...knew I had read it before. Thanks, guys- you rock! Matt is also e-mailing me, so it's all good.

 

your welcome man.....I was going to do this recently untill i figure out i had to paid 175 more for a new rear manifold. so i book marked that for future refrence....you should do this your self on stuff you have found and know is asked.

 

You are absolutely right....I remember thinking to do that when I read it last time. Guess I didn't.. Thanks again.

 

The angled drill works great if you get the one from Northern Tool Co.

Also, if you have a dremel, you might want to get the 90 degree angle for that as well. Then get a few (buy out the store) of those grinding attachments (the orange ones). I recommend getting a larger telescoping / swivel mirror so you can lay on top of the engine and drill from there. From the bottom, you'll want to pull all of the exhaust. I didn't lower the engine, but i'm guessing that may have made things easier, though you probably don't want to lay on it then.

I had three studs broken in the rear and two in the front. Needless to say, it took a while. Two of them I was able to drill and then use an EZ out with a lot of PB blaster. The others I ended up drilling and grinding out until I could tap it for a heli-coil (available at napa...9mm I think). Once then helicoil was in, everything was all good in the hood.

It's a crap job, especially in below 0 Minnesota winter.

 

Doood.. screw that. leave the engine running while you're doing it and keep yourself warm!

I have a hard time working on the car below 40 deg temps, let alone below freezing- or below 0!

 

Yeah, no kidding...although 93 degrees in the garage isn't that much fun either..
But, it's all done- thanks for everyone's help. I agree with Matt on the time it takes- probably took me about 12 hours total for both sides, but I could probably do it in half the time now. Not a fun job, but not the worst thing I've ever done either.
Using the ramps helped a lot, just by having enough room to get around under there. I also used the reversing titanium coated bits that someone suggested, but I don't know that the reversing part really helped a lot. One stud on the front did start to turn a bit just by using the drill, but I had no problem using the 7/64 spiral easy out on any of them. The only problem was the stud closest to the oil filter. Didn't have much room for the t-handle on the easy out, so I just put the easy out in my angle drill (electric version, and totally necessary, BTW) and SLOWLY spun it out. Works great that way.

I'm still getting a little noise, though, and I'm wondering if I had a crack in the manifold that I missed. Is there a certain place where they crack, and are the cracks usually pretty noticeable? I checked them out pretty well, and didn't see anything obvious. Is it the flange that usually cracks?

 

Yeah, texas must be nice for working on a car. I go out with my winter boots, flannel lined carhart jeans, a jacket, a snowmobile suit, and a hunters mask.

Can't leave the car running too long since the garage is shut to keep a little bit of warmth in (I'm working on scoring a heater for the garage), plus my valves would be shot to hell if I did that with the exhaust manifold off.

Worst thing about the below 0 is that everything plastic snaps and your hands stick to the tools if you don't wear gloves and you get minor frost bite on your a** if you're laying on the cement for any length of time.

Good times.

 

heheh when it's like 25 here i just turn up the heater and go to work..and when it's 90 i just turn on the a/c....ahhh the power of a nice garage.

 

hey cool,
that was my thread.
everyone here was a great help when i was getting my exhaust studs done.
matt,
did you ever come up to canada?

however,
when i had mine done, everything seemed fine. the car performed a tad better and the ticking was essentially gone. I HAD 6 BROKEN STUDS... 6!
anyways,
i still get ticking.
the sound is definately magnified by my aftermarket y-pipe.
i'm wondering now if the shorty headers were warped. i know they didn't crack. the head wasn't cracked either. it may have been warped though. it's such a pizz off that i had it repaired but i still get the d@mn ticking!
i should have done it myself in first place but it was february and the mechanic i used was experienced with this particular repair and he was cheap.

 

My dad has two propane heators.

One is a standalone unit that's about 3ft tall. Works very well. But up in Seattle, it doesn't get that cold so we use a little unit that attaches to the top of a standard BBQ propane tank. Neat little unit and if you keep the garage doors closed it can heat up a 2 car garage fairly nicely. But at 0 deg F, a bigger unit would work better. Try a pawn shop. Usually these things don't get used that often and should be in decent shape used.

 

Thanks for the tip! After 3 years without one, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet. At first it was an adventure, then it was just being tough, now I don't really care. I just want to be warm! =}

 

Yeah, still having noise sucks. Mine is better, and I'm giving it a day or 2 to "settle in" before I decide the ultimate success or not. I know I have a not-so-good gasket between the flex and the cat, so MAYBE that's it...doubt it, though. It's still better than it was, but I'm just hoping I didn't miss a cracked manifold.

Anyway- thanks again to all for the input. Nice to know there's help when you need it.