Castro

Sure things can never be easy. This weekend I went out and got a new starter seeing that the starter on the z has been on its way out. Anyhow it looked all pretty simple picked the car up took the tire off the whole nine. Disconnected the starter and the wiring pretty straight forward. But of course it was all going too easy. The starter would not fit via the hole in-between the car body and the manifold pipes headed into the cats.

Ok so I figured looks like the next option is to loosen the manifold pipes which should give me enough space to yank out the starter.

So off I go and of course the manifold connection bolts are completed rusted up (makes sense since the heat and all) so I hit them with liquid wrench and then started to take the first one off. Well SNAP went the nut at the bottom. My dad thinks the bolt (which has threads on both sides) on the top part of the stud is built into the top part of the manifold. I sure as hell hope not! I know there are about 3 threads showing on the top.

Yesterday I picked up 2 nuts and tried to strap them onto what was left of the bolt to see if I could reverse and crack the bolt but no go the threads just started spinning after awhile.

Long and winded story i know :[

Question what do I do now? I am going to have to take into a mechanic but I want to know what they will do here. I obviously need a new bolt to connect the manifold. But will he drill the screw out or hit it with a torch. The area is very very tight not as tight as the back bolt but never the less tight.

I am thinking of just having my mechanic change the starter as well. I am pretty sure he is going to have to drop the bottom manifold pipes out of both sides in order to take the starter out.

What do u guys think?

raul.garcia

Well mine's an 88' once all the bolts, and electrical has been removed, I move it forward while rotating it left, or right to get as far forward as possible (stop at motor mount) then rotate it vertical and left, or right while moving it down, and out she comes!!!

Castro

raul i wonder if your manifold setup is the same as mine. I have dual cats does your 88 have that as well? Wow i tried moving not quite like that but man that would be a killer if i could have taken it out without touching the manifold.

AutoRoc

When I took off my exh. manifolds I snapped one of the 2 studs that connect the Y pipe and to my knowledge, YES they are built into the manifold. Either that or they are rusted together extremely well. Hitting them with a hammer for removal could be a bad idea. The cast iron could shatter. Goodluck though.

raul.garcia

Castro,
No mine is a single cat. I replaced the starter when I had the stock engine in it. Now that I have SLP Headers and a mini-starter it's easier to get it out.

Castro

Autoroc how did u end up getting the stud off in the end?

Dave89IROC

nope, they are rusted good, you need a torch to heat the manifold and a stud remover(or vise grips, it's easier w/ stud remover)

IROC-T

Pull the manifold completely off so you have plenty of room to work. If this is a stock manifold it is cast iron,so be careful when heating it. You can heat it up ,but do it evenly all over so that it is all pretty much the same temp. while it is hot you can grab the stud use a little penitrating oil and try to remove it stud. DO NOT cool the manifold quickly,let it cool slowly cover it with sand or a welding blanket if you can(this will keep the cracks away)then put in the new stud. If you can not grab the stud you can line a nut up over it and weld it so you can put a wrench on it to turn. Third option is to drill and retap tor a new stud.

Castro

Hey guys thanks for the advise. I talked to this guy who works at the dealer and he told me he is going to take a torch and heat it up just like u guys said. Thank God there is still thread for him to work with.

It would be nice to have a torch like that but from what he was telling me the one they use has 2 tanks one for oxygen and the other forgot what it was.

Regardless I think he is going to have to take down the manifold to get the starter out. Unless I am mistaken and didnt try moving it enough...

IROC-T

Cool good luck with it. Yhe other tank is Acetylene,I don't think you would have succeeded with a Propane torch,it wouldn't have gotten hot enough.

Castro

Ahh that damn bad news! Well the guy at the dealer heated up the screw and still couldnt get it off> He even said that they have this screw thing that latches on to it so it can come off and nada. Imagine what a disaster> So now he said just get a new manifold no clue how much this will run me. He also said I should just slap some headers on.

So here are the options slap on headers (x2) or just replace that one manifold.

I would love to get headers on there but I am affraid of the heat issues of heard of. Wires melting etc. Any thoughts on this? Are there headers out there that don't get as hot? Also I am not 100% sure how this will impact the car overall performance. I know it will be louder. I still have the stock 2 cats on there in addition to the borla exhuast currently on the 3rd hole which is almost free flow before it hits the muffler (Less back presure = less torque right?)

Anyone offer some thoughts?

Ben91RS

You can get headers that have a ceramic-type coating that keeps the heat down. Some companies offer it on their headers (like Edelbrock) while some other places take a header companies product and coats it themself (like Jet-Hot or ACS). If you can't swing this, than you can always spray on some header paint and/or header wrap, which can help with keeping the heat down. About melting wires, all you have to do is just route them in a way that they won't touch the headers (you can use wire ties, wire looms, custom brackets that hold the wires above the valve covers, etc.). And about the performance, you will definetely feel a difference and hear a difference. More power can't hurt, right .

It all really just depends on your budget. If you've got $350 to $500 to spare and want some more power, then get some headers. If you're in a crunch, than just go to a junkyard and get another stock manifold.

aklim

As long as you watch the wires you should be fine. Make sure they are far away enough from the headers. Also make sure that the plug boots are good quality. Say Accel 9000+ extreme heat or get a plug boot jacket