OK - now I'm scared - (Exhausts)

[mikey9]

Never spend an hour researching what MIGHT go wrong if you attempt to refit an exhaust on your van.
Searching the prev threads brought up several tails of woe and a reread of the wiki on removing broken off studs - etc.Problem is
I need a new exhaust - ours is leaking in at least two places and is really a pile of rust (except the silencer!) - my problem is FEAR.

I am keen to go down the Stainless Route (LA Performance perhaps) and happy to have a go at the plumbing/attaching required.
This bit isn't the scary side

- it is the fear of getting van in the air - a week of Plus Gas daily applications
- run the engine hot
- tap with hammer on end of manifold stud
- half turn - then back (hopefully)
- then more - and back (hopefully) then ......

SNAP

oh dear - van on drive with one snapped off stud (and either all the others off - or snapped - or still attached).

Now we aren't blessed with lots of (read: any) VW friendly specialists up here in the Highlands - so I am then in the hands of a couple of general mechanic names I have been given who are up for a go at bigger/older van stuff in Inverness - assuming I can still drive the 15 miles in with a now very loud van leaking from one or more manifolds....

Question: Should I
1. Still have a go - if the worst happens - try the wiki approaches for dealing with the remnants (the terms "drop the engine out", "tapping drill sizes", "Stud extractors" are all quite scary to me

2. Go to said mechanic with shiny exhaust and ask him to snap my studs off for me.......no ... fit it for I guess 100 - 150 notes?

3. Hang in there until exhaust falls apart completely - hoping it will survive till am down in the T25 friendly Cheshire/West yorkshire area (Steve/Simon B)

4. GO to Kwik Fi..........(joking - I wouldn't dare)

5. Have another beer - then worry some more (you may have noticed this post has been influenced by alchohol - apologies )


Your opinions may decide my fate...!
Mikey

[marcus_asparagus]

Your in the same place I was a while back.........took the plunge, JP stainless exhaust a week of plus gas, tail in the air and..........
two snapped studs!!!!! Arrrggghhhh.

Nothing could have been done differently - hay ho. So after several failed attempts with mig welder and lots of tea out she came and off to the menders for stud extraction.....Not that bad really, in fact taking the engine out was a bit of a doddle really. glad i did it, gave me a chance to check the clutch out! And flush the cooling system which needed a change anyway.

So just go for it, you will learn loads about your van. It may well just come off nice and easy......

Good luck!

[edoh]

pointless going to kwik "pooh" - i took mine there - lots of shaking heads and gormless chin stroking - 'cor guv - we cant be messing with all them different bits of it..' - couldnt even give me an extortionate quote! took it to a vw garage who did a proper job w guarantee - bleedin expensive - but no exhaust worries for a few years -

[Laurie]

Single hex sockets. Prepare to hammer a 12mm onto a tired 13mm nut.
Split nuts with a good chisel if poss. A cheapo blow torch is a good investment. If it is a water boxer, then the threads may disintegrate in the heads, but a helicoil kit is only around 20 quid and you can flog it on later.

Really bad bolts are best cut off with a dremmel and the stubs then screwed out with moles.

There are no magic fixes. Anyone who does it will have the same obstacles. Each time you do something like that, you gain experience for other jobs.

Bloody do it!