1.9DG Blowing Exhaust - swap time

[StuM]

Hi All,

So my 1.9DG has blown a bit for a while but is getting really quite loud now. Have one more trip planned this year then I'm going to focus on some of the jobs that I need to do - including the exhaust.

I've seen evidence of a leak between head and 'manifold' so don't think I'll get away with a silencer. With this in mind and from what I've read on here, am I right to say that I will almost certainly shear studs off when removing and if so, is that realistically an engine out job to sort?

IF it is engine out, how high do I need to get the van to drop it out underneath?

Many thanks,
Stu

[itchyfeet]

No way of knowing what studs are like
get some plus gas off ebay soak the nuts and see if you can loosen them

chances are you can fit it without removing the engine but if needed standard ramps are high enough

[torsen]

how about using a nut splitter to get the nut off the stud?

[123-jn]

Is it the front end (gearbox end ) or rear end (pulley end). I just replaced my exhaust cylinders 1 and 4 (front end). With the drive shafts disconnected there is enough room to drill out and tap for helicoils as I had to do 3 out of 4. I used m8 helicoil inserts which came in a kit with the correct tap and drill. I sawed off the seized stud remains with a junior hack saw, centrepunched the centre of each stud and drilled out starting with a 2.5 mm drill (extra high quality) do it gently and put tape around the drill at 20 mm. Do not drill any deeper!!! cylinder head wall is soft and only 4-5mm thick behind the studs. I then put a 5mm drill through and and 8mm before finally putting the helicoil pilot drill through. (tape at 20mm each time.) (you can feel as the drill comes out the other side of the stud, stop immediately)
At this point I used my tap in a battery drill as there is no room to swing a tap wrench. Screw the helicoils in and break off the tabs and bobs your aunt!!
PS, the stat guard gets in the way on the passenger side so you need to use long drills or a small chuck.
If its the rear end then you can remove the silencer and tin ware and unbolt the rear engine support beam as you lower the rear of the engine a bit ake sure no cables or hoses get pulled too far. 4 inches is enough to work on the rear studs. All is not lost if this sounds bad you can always drain the coolant disconnect the wiring and throttle cable and drop the whole lump on the floor.

[123-jn]

forgot to say, I tried heat, plus gas, welding a nut on to unscrew and mole grips, hammers and a nut cracker to no avail. I wished I hadn't wasted all the time because it was so much easier drilling and tapping.

[RichH75]

I did the whole system on last month the real pain was the nuts under and around the thermostat housing in the end I soaked with ambersil penetrating oil with nightly sprays, on the day of removal I then used a product from loctite which is called freeze and release (the hints in the name freeze down to -30c to crack the rust and then puts release agent into crack). I then used short swivel breaker bar with an Irwin nut extractor with a little patience it all came away. Plenty of copper slip and copper nuts for the reassembly. Hope that helps

Rich

[StuM]

Thank you very much for the advice all, much appreciated.

I'll post back once I have done some further analysis.

Cheers,
Stu