[mysupratt]

Ok.... I'm in need of some serious help here. My friend and I this morning had plans to install my downpipe and exhaust on my 97 TT. We tried everything in the book and we could NOT get the damn nuts off. Breaker bars, a torch, impact wrench, about a gallon of penatrating oil.... nothing will crack these mothers. And now as you could expect the nuts have rounded over a bit. I am so pissed and depressed right now it's not funny. Two more options I guess I could try 1) loosen the hexagon studs that the nuts are on or 2) remove the freaking manifold to get to this bitch nuts.

Obviously option #2 is not what I want to do. Is there some special tool/socket for these hexagon studs? If I could get something for them and take off the dp like that would it work? I simply don't know anymore. I'm trying to calm down but I'm finding myself crawling under the car and spraying another gallon of pentrating oil in hopes something will loosen. Hell... I don't want to stay stock forever.

Any insight, suggestions, help... it would be soooooo greatly appreciated!

 

[NOVAsupra]

are you getting a solid hold of the nut? (get your minds out of the gutter) try using a swivel head socket attachment, a 2' extension then put a breaker bar on. also spray some wd40/penetrating oil on and leave it for about half an hour. this should do the trick. you don't wanna pull the studs out, its a major pia.

 

[quick]

Just drill the nuts off.

If you're careful, you can drill one side of each nut off, and then use a chisel to remove them. Probably take you a few hours since you haven't done this kind of thing before.

Don't screw up the threads or you're fucked.

If you need a better description let me know. I just did a similar thing on my wife's Corolla last week. It's a good skill to have if you work on cars a lot.

 

[mysupratt]

try using a swivel head socket attachment, a 2' extension then put a breaker bar on. also spray some wd40/penetrating oil on and leave it for about half an hour. this should do the trick. you don't wanna pull the studs out, its a major pia.

Yep... tried a swivel head and got a solid grip on the nut and the bitch would not move. I've been spraying penatrating oil on these things since 10am this morning. I've never had this much trouble before. My friend had no problems on his 94tt. I don't know what to do. So trying to remove the studs is a bad idea? It seems that a 9/32 socket fits them well. But hell... if I can't budge the nuts what makes me think the damn studs will comes loose? I don't know.

 

[mysupratt]

Just drill the nuts off.

If you're careful, you can drill one side of each nut off, and then use a chisel to remove them. Probably take you a few hours since you haven't done this kind of thing before.

Don't screw up the threads or you're fucked.

If you need a better description let me know. I just did a similar thing on my wife's Corolla last week. It's a good skill to have if you work on cars a lot.

Hey Quick,

I was thinking about a dremel tool or something. But figured I could not get it higher enough for the top nuts. How would I go about getting a drill bit up in there? I'm all for trying this idea.

Thanks!

 

[supra400hptt]

Using 1/2 inch tools and a 6 pt socket the nuts should come loose or the studs should snap off. I hope the latter doesn't happen. If you ever get them off go buy some regular nuts. The problem is caused because they are a special lock nut. Put some antisieze on the studs also when you put it back together. The first time I think I had the impact on each one for about 5 minutes before the came off. If they start to round you might want to get one of those six pt sockets that grip the flats of the nut instead of the corners. Metwrench came out with them first but craftsmen sells them now also. Again 1/2 extentions with a pipe on the rachet is the way to go. 3/8 will flex too much.

 

[Six-n-twins]

I had to use a pneumatic wrech with a swivel. If not, use a dremel and cut the bastards off.

 

[mysupratt]

Thanks for all the replies guys I really appreciate it!

This is getting quite ridiculous. I've been wrenching ( 1/2 breaker bar) on the best nut now for the past hour to no avail still. ARGH!!!!!! The other nuts I think are too rounded to take the kind of pressure I putting on the last good nut. I just went out to walmart and got that corded extension for my dremel tool and I will somehow cut/grind the bastards off. I'm on a mission now. May these nuts burn in hell!

Again I'm open to any suggestions, comments or tricks.

Thanks much!

 

[WannaBe TT!]

Lemme tell ya, those nuts are a bitch. I had your exact same problem, i got 2 of the nuts off, (the 2 more accessible ones) but the one in the upper left corner didn't come off and i ended up stripping it. (i got the ratchet on their with a swivel and extensions) Ok, i have 2 suggestions. What i did to get mine off was to dremel the nut off, literally cut it free. I don't recommend doing this though because it's quite frustrating. If i remember correctly, when i was installing new turboes (have to drop the downpipe) in my car, i got to all the downpipe nuts off without a swivel. Get yourself about 18-24 inches of extension and come in from further back. This should allow you to securely get the socket on the nut firmly. Now let the end of the ratchet be sticking perpendicular to the bottom of the car so u can get a good lever on there, (the longer the better) and then just give it some muscle. I think that should work, but if not, the dremel may be the way you have to go. The nut was such a bitch to get off i actually kept it as a "reminder" that you never know how long a "simple" job is gonna take. (the downpipe install should take about 1.5-2 hours, ended up taking me like 6) When i get my digital camera i'll post a picture of it.

 

[stoker6]

One of mne had to be cut off and my 97 only had 14K miles on it.

I would try cutting perpendicular to the threrads. That way if you do cut into the threads a little, the nut will still tighten down without too much of a problem.

 

[mysupratt]

Update!

Well... I was able to spend a few hours last night with the dremel tool and I still haven't been able to cut any nuts off. I'm being very careful about not going too deep and hitting the threads. It's hard to get that tool up there. I'm trying to get as close as I can and then I will chisel and bang the hell out of the bitches to knock them loose or something. All I can say is that in my wildest nightmare I would not have imagined wasting the entire labor day weekend under the car trying to cut these nuts. Sad... sad day for me

 

[Hardball]

Geez... go rent an impact wrench and be done with it! A breaker bar applies a constant pressure againt the nut, which is great for something that isn't siezed. An impact wrench applies a huge amount of pressure for very short durations which is great for a heat tightened nut/rust situation you're encountering. An added bonus of the impact wrench is that it works with the liquid wrench... allowing it to work further into the bolt/nut joint.

I, too, fought with installing my DP... one short trip to the rental depot and getting the 1/2" drive sockets and extensions and it was done. The wrench I used was rated at 150 foot pounds and it took about 30 seconds of impacting to get the nuts free.

 

[quick]

Re: Update!

Well... I was able to spend a few hours last night with the dremel tool and I still haven't been able to cut any nuts off. I'm being very careful about not going too deep and hitting the threads. It's hard to get that tool up there. I'm trying to get as close as I can and then I will chisel and bang the hell out of the bitches to knock them loose or something. All I can say is that in my wildest nightmare I would not have imagined wasting the entire labor day weekend under the car trying to cut these nuts. Sad... sad day for me

If you can focus your Dremel-ing on one side of the nut, you can then use the chisel to basically cut out the nut... turn it into a 'C' instead of the typical 'O'...

What this lets you do is basically rotate it freely.

Another thing to use is a torch. You can heat the nut until it's a cherry red and then chisel the shit out of it. Be wary of burning yourself. The tips of my fingers have burns in the shape of thread-marks right now.

It sounds to me like you're too far along to consider impact wrenches, as drilling and rounding off the nuts will prevent the use of sockets.

This is really a case in which you just have to work at it and be patient. I did the same thing on my wife's exhaust last weekend ... spent about 3 hours on Saturday, and then sat down Sunday with the drill, chisel, and propane torch and nuked the fuckers in like 15 minutes a piece.

Sometimes it helps to put the tools down and just come back later after you've thought about it.

I had a similar problem on the Corolla (fucking east coast salt damage) when I replaced the cat. That was before I knew how to drill and chisel these babies off easily, and I ended up putting so much pressure on the thing that I messed up my back and had to go to physical therapy for a couple of months.

Pretty funny. Tried to save $$ by doing it myself and ended up in pain for like a year before I went in to therapy.

Anyway, my point is to take time and ensure that you focus on the nut while avoiding doing damage to the studs.

Lastly, be proud of yourself when you finish this shit. This is the kind of job that turns you from a girlie-girl "wrencher" into a real sonofabitch when it comes to car work. Regardless of time, think of the money you've saved yourself.

Keep it up. Email me if you need a prompt response as I didn't see the responses to this and didn't get back as fast as I could.

 

[LythiumRuSH]

Rusted Bolts are Sent from Hell

This past weekend I helped remove an entire exhuast system from an 86 Shelby GLHS. That's 15 years of East Coast salt crap accumulation. After getting the exhuast hangers off using a 4 foot lever to extend the socket, the god damn thing was welded together at each point. So, being young and stupid, we took out a hacksaw and proceeded to cut the pipe in half and remove each piece. This worked for about 10 mins and then our arms didn't feel strong enough to wipe our own asses. Limited with tools, we took a hand axe, stuck it into the groove we so nicely created with the hacksaw, and slammed it in with a mallet. after about 300 shots, we split exhaust enough to break it apart by bending it back and forth, in which globs of rusted oil, water, etc spilled onto my arm. That was not fun.

 

[mysupratt]

dp update!

Well this mere hour and a half install turned into 5 days of hell. I'm glad to report that I finally was able to remove all the nuts (and studs) and install my new downpipe. Thanks to my dremel tool, a propane torch, a smaller size socket, and one big hammer I was able to remove the studs. They loosened up instead of the damn nuts. Here's a pic of what things looked like:

I'm just happy this ordeal is over! Thanks guys for all your suggestions and help!

 

[greensoup]

I actually ripped my swivel in half trying to those damn nuts off. 50 pounds my ass!

 

[Quikturbo]

Finally

Glad to see you finally got those things off!!! We should have been done with that thing last Saturday Now your finally at full BPU!

Greensoup, I busted my swivel too, along with almost breaking 3 of my knuckles (ouch)

anyways, can't wait to hear it tonight michael.


chris

 

[hungwin jza80]

Wow, sounds like you had a really rough time getting those nuts off. I'm glad it worked out though!

While we're on this topic, does anyone know what size and threading the nuts for the DP studs are? I am going to install my DP next week and this would save a trip to the store while doing the install. I am planning on replacing the nuts, but not with OEMs since they are of the locking variety.

Thanks

 

[HmoobSUPRA]

Thank GOD my bolts were loose Just be sure not to overtighten the bolts when you put it back...just in case you have to swap it our for emissions, etc.

 

[mysupratt]

Wow, sounds like you had a really rough time getting those nuts off. I'm glad it worked out though!

While we're on this topic, does anyone know what size and threading the nuts for the DP studs are? I am going to install my DP next week and this would save a trip to the store while doing the install. I am planning on replacing the nuts, but not with OEMs since they are of the locking variety.

Thanks

Yes... it was a horrible ordeal. Ruined my plans for labor weekend. Sorry I don't know the exact size of the nuts. I never got them off the damn stud. In fact I came up with my own way of getting some different bolts and nuts for the new downpipe. One thing I noticed is that the nuts and bolts that came with my exhaust (tanabe racing medallion) were the exact same size. Good luck with your install! I hope you don't run into problems. Just soak the nuts with alot of liquid wrench and let it sit for awhile.