exhaust manifold leak
is there any way to repair without taking off afraid of broken bolts
Forum Discussion
On ours, a Class C, remember, the driver side rear bolts were still there, but the manifold was visibly warped away from the head, and the OEM gasket was burned through. I sprayed the bolts daily for over a week. When I went to remove them, I had a very solid S-K ratchet and the socket fit well. A little tweaking and rocking back and forth (loosen to tight and tight to loose) then they came out. I sprayed lubricant on the bolts and kept working them so they didn't seize. Manifold required a re-surface to get the port flanges clean AND true to each other and the head surfaces.
The remark about no need to spray the bolts is correct. When I got the bolts out on driver side, there was absolutely NO sign that the penetrant actually entered the thread area.
When I looked at the passenger side a couple years later, I saw that the 9/16" bolt heads were wasting down to a smaller size. Also noticed I could poke a long extension through the space where fender liner met frame. I put a 13MM socket on the extension, started it onto a head, and drove it on by hammering the extension. The bolts didn't just come out, they came out easily. That made me a fan of hammering. There's so much iron around those bolts, I doubt a homeowner torch will help.
This case is a Class A and I've never seen that engine access. The case is also broken bolts, much harder to access. We don't know if the coach has a lot of rust/corrosion. That's why I'm voicing caution.
There are tools to help with extraction, basically drill guides that get mounted over a broken bolt, held in place by a bolt in a usable hole. Guides help prevent drilling crooked and getting into the threads. Bad drilling is one problem. Breaking a drill, extractor, or tap in there is the other.
The remark about no need to spray the bolts is correct. When I got the bolts out on driver side, there was absolutely NO sign that the penetrant actually entered the thread area.
When I looked at the passenger side a couple years later, I saw that the 9/16" bolt heads were wasting down to a smaller size. Also noticed I could poke a long extension through the space where fender liner met frame. I put a 13MM socket on the extension, started it onto a head, and drove it on by hammering the extension. The bolts didn't just come out, they came out easily. That made me a fan of hammering. There's so much iron around those bolts, I doubt a homeowner torch will help.
This case is a Class A and I've never seen that engine access. The case is also broken bolts, much harder to access. We don't know if the coach has a lot of rust/corrosion. That's why I'm voicing caution.
There are tools to help with extraction, basically drill guides that get mounted over a broken bolt, held in place by a bolt in a usable hole. Guides help prevent drilling crooked and getting into the threads. Bad drilling is one problem. Breaking a drill, extractor, or tap in there is the other.
