I'm ripping out the exhaust on my 90. Where the header goes to the flexpipe or tube or whatever (the 4 bottom bolts on the header) mine are extremely tight. I'm wondering if they are just tight from age and should I go ahead and use some loosening spray and yank on it or if it's supposed to be this tight and should bust out the air tools or something. It's a really tight spot so I don't have much room. Just wanna know what your past experiences with this are. Thanks a lot.

 

get some MAPP gas from home depot or sears and torch the living hell out of them.

Try spraying the lubricant on the bolts right after you heat them up, no, it will not catch on fire, it will create shitload of smoke, but the heat tends to pull the lubricant into the threads. It has always worked for me.

 

PB Blaster

 

That stuff is great, it is the only thing that has worked for me.

 

Careful with the fire, your oxygen sensor is right above those bolts.

 

Alright, what happened was I had like 1.5 ft worth of 3/8" drive extensions on a ratchet and my friend was yanking on it and the ratchet broke.

A friend of mine told me I should be able to use a 1/2" drive breaker bar with the needed extensions and with the right amount of muscle I'll be able to get it loose.

Just checking to see if this would be okay or if I might screw something up. Is there a possibility of breaking the bolt or something crazy that would cause a lot more work later? Thanks.

P.S. Amazingly it was a Craftsman so if the bolt and breaker bar hold up I think my friend has the muscle he needs to get it off.

 

Craftsman tools break alot more often in my experience than say Snap On. Header/CAT bolts are the worst. I like to use a die grinder and cut right through them, i love die grinders.

 

the new ratchets that came out are sweet.

 

Plus if you break a Craftsman, you can return it for free.

 

air tools are the easiest to break nut and bolts loose its easy when the dealership supplies you with it also

 

Thanks guys. I tried WD-40, breaker bars, and just about everything but air tools. Only problem is that it is such a tight spot. I guess I'll see what all I can shove up there. I guess I'll probably ending cutting the bolt off. Might be the easiest way since I don't know these headers anyway. H22A on the way!

 

does the flextube eat power? what's the point of it?

 

i recomend that you invest 1.50$ into pb blaster, and spray the bolts while they are hot. then wrap a t shirt around the pipe so you dont burn yourself and the bolts will give i promise.

 

So is this PB Blaster like a spray or something in a can? And will it mess up anything else if it touches it? One more. Do I just yank the headers off and expect the bolts to tear right out? Sorry, I've just never heard of this stuff. Thanks a lot.

 

I took off my cat with wd40 and two broken socket wrech heads..
that **** is tight as fu_k...just use wd40 and zippo lighter..no dont spray it with the lighter on..spray and use the lighter to heat it up..just give it a few yanks
i took off my stock muffler, cat and header like that.

 

DOnt use air tool for header tho'...some **** did it with my dc 4-2-1...now i know
why they charge so little.

 

I believe that hte purpose of the flex tube is to as a flexible joine, so that when the engine moves, it wont damage the exhaust system.