So I'm getting my studs replaced on Thurdsday or Friday. I was wondering just in case I need to replace manifold as well if this would be direct replacement.. would it cover front and rear?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-94...ayphotohosting

 

you should buy me a christmas present

 

If you look at the picture,it shows both front and rear manifolds..



But,i have heard nothing But bad things about pacesetter headers since i have been on this board..

IIRC they have fitment issues...

 

+1 on the for pacesetters. have heard nothing good...no real performance gains either.

 

John, do a search man. I know they don't fit well but I'm not sure on whether they gain HP or not.

Id say just stay stock. If anything we can port or clean up my extra pair of stockers and throw them on later. But since you want to do something else Id say stock manifolds are good enough.

~Alex

 

wow.. big job. any idea how much this is gunna cost? cuz my rear bolts are done as well and im trying to get an estimate from a few local shops

 

for me to do it myself a week ago...it cost me like $125 in parts. Thats for studs, nuts, washers, EZ-outs, a helicoil kit, a close quarters drill, manifold gaskets, y-pipe gaskets, and a flange gasket for the cat converter. It also took about 17 hours of my weekend, but thats because I messed up while drilling out a stud. It should have taken only 5 hours really...maybe 7-8 at the most. Making a jig took like 2 hours, and drilling at a wierd angle took about 2 hours, and I painted some other parts so that took like 3 hours. And finally getting the stud out with the jig took another hour. You could also add an hour for looking for loose parts, the right size wrenches and sockets, finding random parts I misplace along the way, and figuring out where bolts go that I forget to organize.

 

Well I'm getting it done by an old customer of mine when I used to work at Murray's Discount Auto, he always bought exhaust components off me, he worked for a shop but did jobs on the side (he's actually a 4th gen x2 owner) so they're letting him use the shop this weekend. $200 labor for front and back and I bought all OEM which was $109.40 12 studs, manifold gaskets, ypipe gaskets and 6 downpipe studs so it should be pretty nice.

Guess I'll be reusing my stock mani.

Thanks Guys!

 

hmmm good info. i appreciate it. im still wondering though... is it necessary to replace the gaskets too? or is it just a good idea to get a new one? i dont think ill need a y pipe gasket cuz im thinking about ordering a full exhaust from WSP and im pretty sure it comes with one. but i sent an email over a week ago and they still havent got back to me. anyone know whats going on? do they normally take a while to respond?

 

Tell me about it!! I sent email to them too about a month ago and no response I don't know what's going on with WSP. I even tried the ebay link to contact them but nothing

 

i feel a conspiracy coming on lol

 

Well, I got the gaskets figuring since I'm gonna have everything taken apart, I wanna have it done RIGHT once and not have to take something apart again just because I was too cheap or lazy to spend 20 bucks extra on each gasket..in the long run it will favor me as my plans are to keep my baby...and if I'm keeping my baby then I'm doing things right to have her live longer.

Thats just the way I look at it...

 

plus they have probably never been changed, and if you have broken studs, then the leaking exhaust probably killed the gasket. And would you want to put it together just to see that the old gasket is leaking, then have to do it all over?

~Alex

 

the gaskets are made of pressed graphite. they come apart in pieces. any time you remove the exhaust manifolds, you MUST replace the gaskets.

the Y-pipe-to-manifold gaskets are little donut looking crush rings. those *should* be replaced each time, but often I don't bother with it until they start to leak. at $2 each and 5 min to replace if it leaks, it's not a problem to do.


Also note (from my bad experiences), before you torque the exhaust manidolfs to the heads just get them on there 'snug', be sure to put the y pipe back onto the manifolds- don't worry about the cat just yet- and THEN tighten a couple of the nuts holding the manifolds to the heads to hold it in place.. there is enough play in the manifold mounting holes that if you just bolt them up, they can be crooked and the y pipe won't seal properly and it sounds like poo.. once you're sure the manifolds are all lined up properly, pull the y pipe back off and torque the bolts to factory spec.

that will take you an extra 5-10 min when installing the manifolds and will save you about 2 hours of cursing later when you can't figure out why your Y pipe either cracked or is leaking at the gasket flanges.

 

lol thank you sir. I'll be making sure my installer does as you said.

 

A point of interest. I had a question about what to do in the case where an EZ out is stuck in the stud. There are really only 2 options in this case. One being to remove the head and EDM it out, and the second being to find a drill bit that can remove it. The second option has been difficult since finding a bit harder than steel is not an easy task. HSS is too weak, as is cobalt. And a coated bit with something like TiN is also not really to good since it's a low speed application and still too weak. I sourced a 1/4" screw machine drill bit made of solide carbide that will do the trick just fine. The bit is part number 09736141 from MSC tools. Screw machine bits are called that because they are much shorter than a typical bit. This will help with walking and bending, and will help drill a more accurate hole. I don't have a contact number but the price is $22 for one bit. It's pricey, but a lot cheaper than an EDM job. The bit is just big enough to drill through the stud, so combined with a 21/64 drill bit and the corresponding 8X1.25 pitch helicoil and you should be good as new.

 

Solid carbide is wonderfully strong, as long as you can hold the drill absolutely rock solid and feed the bit very slowly and deliberately into the work.

You will do neither in this application, so be prepared for that pricey little drill bit to go 'snap' really quick.

 

Well, to ensure a relatively smooth surface on the EZ out, you could take a dremel made of high-grade Aluminum Oxide and lightly grind the face of the extractor. I'm pretty sure Al2O3 is strong enough to grind steel. The carbide bit IS extremely rigid, but shouldn't snap unless there's a sharp edge for the bit to catch on where the EZ out broke. Plus, the short bit length should help. There's not really any other options besides carbide to drill out High speed tempered steel EZ-outs. Above Carbide is Cubic Boron Nitride, which is WAY to rigid....and will snap for sure. Below Carbide is either carbide tipped or Ceramic or a coated bit...all of which will wear out way to quickly and leave you with a dent (if that) in the stud. A steel bit of any kind will not drill out an EZ out.

 

Or do what I did when I Was in a bind on one job..... carefully weld a nub onto the end of the EZ out and grab it with some vice grips. a quick twist counterclockwise and it comes right out.

be careful not to weld onto the stud material or the head though.. we didn't have much of a choice on that job so we had to do it, but it worked.

 

What if the ez out is flush with the stud, or even worse they are both deep in the head? How do you get a welder in there? Can that ruin the aluminum head also? I'm just wondering, because I don't have a welder.

 

Im afraid it is both, the ez out broke off flush with the stud, and the stud is fairly deep below the head surface. Im fairly certain the EZ out was solid carbide as well, so a carbide drill bit wouldnt work.

 

Well guys ALL my studs have been replaced!!!! 12 manifold and 6 ypipe along with all gaskets. Sounds so much better now, I think I can actually hear my muffler! I'm gonna be needing a rear motor mount in the near future and oil pan seals/silicone which I think I'll be doing both at the same time when I decide to leFix it all.

Mechanic started at 11am and finished lil before 6pm. $200 for labor, $115 for parts...$315 total isnt too bad IMO, I was there helpin him out with the lil things while he was welding screws onto the ends of the broken studs. pics coming later

 

So you fetched all the tools for him?

 

John, did all the ticking noises going away or is the one I thought was the exhaust studs still there?

~Alex

 

Well appearantly my car was low on oil. I dont know why..its only been like 2300 miles since I changed it and I do it every 2500.. so its gotta be burning it? Being low on oil is what made that noise.

 

7 out of 12 broke on their way out, I think 2-3 were broken to begin with.

 

Glad to hear it's done, John, but that is pretty major surgery for a motor that is burning oil unless you have plans to do a rebuild in the near future...

 

Well, that burning oil thing..I dont know how accurate that is, as I am just guessing. Where else could it leak oil from? I recently changed valve cover gasket and got a new drainplug with one of those lil OEM washers that crunch up. It used to need oil a week after I would change it but so far its been over a month until now. It there another place to check where oil would come from?

btw I do plan on throwing in a rebuilt motor in there sometime in within the next year. I got 170k miles on this one so far..pretty sure it can keep going longer even how it is.

 

i planned on doing the exhaust studs over the holiday. i was prepared for the 1 that was broken and has been for years. last weekend that was the plan. since then, my timing belt slipped and an EZ out snapped and so my heads came off. didnt bend valves and was thrilled for that! did however find that the woodruff key on the timing gear ate a hole in the crank and now the gear wobbles. i havent found anything about that on here, but if anybodys seen it before, tell me bout it.

i had a cam seal that was leaking and soaked my timing belt. ive got 217k on mine and if i can get this crank repaired im looking for another 217. the front cam seal was pliable and doing its job. the rear one shattered when i put my screwdriver on it. my oil was covering the front end of the motor but showing no definite signs of where it came from. it was leaking thru the timing cover in various places. if hunting mysterious oil leaks, it'd be worth a shot.