63 riv exhaust work

[Guest Steeleco]

I want to remove the exhaust pipe from the exhaust manifold (two stud bolts with nuts) so I can cut out the heat riser valve inside. A mechanic looked at it and said it may break the studs trying to loosen the bolts (because of rust and the studs looked thin on the back side of the flange). Does anyone have experience doing this or thoughts about the possibility of breaking the studs? HOw difficult is the fix if they do break? I apparently have a leak in the area where the heat riser valve shaft goes through the exhaust header. Thanks for the help.

[Guest REX STALLION]

I have broken exhaust studs before, your mechanic is weary for good reason. For me, I find the best way is to remove the manifold from the heads so you can drill out the broken stud .Cut and grind the broken stud flush with the manifold,center punch the stud and use an undersize drill bit to prep for an "easy out" this tool will catch on the edges of your newly drilled hole to remove the remaining stud.Run a tap through the threads to clean them up and replace with a new stud.Repeat for the second one...might as well ,its sure to break soon anyway. Easy eh? It`s never a fun job. It is a time consuming repair but one that you can do yourself. Good luck !

[RivNut]

I've always taken the car to an exhaust shop. They seem to be able to get the nuts hot enough to break the rust and remove them. I had some broken off studs repaired on on manifold before. Once again, the exhaust shop heated up the stud/manifold and was able to remove the broken stud and install a new one.

If you want to remove the heat riser and not have to try to weld the holes in the manifold shut, you might consider trying to find an exhaust manifold that didn't come with a heat riser. For some reason, the cars I have now have a two piece set up. The heat riser is a bolt-on item. Remove it, weld another section of pipe into your exhaust pipe and the heat riser is eliminated. It looks clean too.

Like the one in the picture of this old ebay auciton.

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Edited October 6, 2012 by RivNut (see edit history)