Hello everyone, new to the group here and I am hoping I can get some advice/help with getting my old exhaust manifold off.
Do I have to lower or drop the turbo down in order to get it to come off? I am having troubles getting the last 2 studs in front section removed. The lower one on the underside/middle is tough to get at with stud extractor. Any advice on how to remove that one? Also got one in front of that, that is very tough and I fear I am going to break it if I crank on it any harder.
Then what to do about the two back bolts on the turbo where it connects to manifold? How do I get at those?
What needs to be removed or how is the best/safest way to remove the old one?
Any advice or tips/knowledge you can share will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

If you're in the middle and f it and staring at the forum.. You have studs posts pointing down/up on the turbo and outwards from the head. You can't get it out like that if the studs hold.. Pull it as a unit.

I'll be back with more details

 

Your wording leaves a bit to be desired, pictures would help but using detailed description would go a long way also..

Ok so the exhaust studs point out from the block, you can't lift the exhaust manifold up with these studs in the head. The turbo downpipe/outlet studs point rearwards, you can't move the turbo or the exhaust manifold outwards from the block with these in place. At the bottom of the downpipe (o2 housing) are studs that point downwards.

You need to remove the intermediate pipe from the bottom of the downpipe, also from the hanger locates at the transmission-engine junction. This will probably let the intermediate pipe slide downwards. Now you have a little bit of wiggle room on the turbo because the oil supply/drain are a corrugated line and a banjo line, but only after you unbolt the turbo stay (bracket under Turbo).

If you remove the nuts on the turbo side of the exhaust manifold you might be able to jiggle enough room to get free of the exhaust manifold studs that secure the turbo to the manifold. (Mine runs into the steering shaft)...

You will likely need to completely isolate the turbo from the oil, water supply-drains, as well as the exhaust on both ends.. You can let the turbo float, shudder, in the hole at this point and wiggle.the exhaust manifold out.

The best is to disconnect the oil feed at the turbo, the oil drain at the block, both water lines, the down pipe from the intermediate pipe, and leave the turbo and exhaust manifold as an assembly which will come out as a unit (it's heavy as ...., you can attach your cherry picker to the heat shroud mounts, or muscle it out)..

 

Now the direct questions..

Do I have to lower or drop the turbo down in order to get it to come off?
(Yeah it can help and works that way. See above about there being wiggle room with the oil feed loose and the drain being an accordion)

The lower one on the underside/middle is tough to get at with stud extractor. Any advice on how to remove that one?
(Your smallest six inch pipe wrench should fit, if you can get hands on it)

Also got one in front of that, that is very tough and I fear I am going to break it if I crank on it any harder.
(Yeah do not try to force a seized stud out, lots of penetration oil and some heat cycles can work but you don't want that to go wrong, leave the studs in that is why they are studs and not bolts. See the other post about getting some wiggle room!)

Then what to do about the two back bolts on the turbo where it connects to manifold? How do I get at those?
(Trying to picture this.. The aft inner and out stud nuts, actually probably all of the I get to thru the wheel well with a short ratchet or your shorter box wrench. It's a quarter turn at a time. You might be able to get them with a ratchet claw and extension from underneath. Slow and steady, and tiny hands, are the keys here.

 

Thank you CO_94 I am adding some pics so you can see where I am in the process.

 

After busting your knuckles, lots of cursing, and you have the turbo nuts off... everything else on the manifold off... you can pry the turbo down and toward fender enough to get the manifold off...
I took mine off 4 times trying to get it welded and not crack... yes, I heated it. used rods for cast iron, and buried it in sand to cool... it cracked everytime...
Then I bought the cheap China header ( use that money for the LCE manifold and be done with it...
Good time to upgrade to A CT26...
After upgrading the turbo, custom down pipe and charge pipe, 82 supra arm, and chasing leaks...
Blowing my head gasket, fighting the head bolts and putting in ARP studs and OEM GASKET it's been so worth it...
I finally got things sorted out. 12# boost at WOT
no fuel cut off... I've driven on the interstate doing 70 with 100 degrees ambient temps for several hundred miles with no issues... this thing has some turbo lag but runs like a scalded cat... I've been using it as my daily driver for months now and love it...
Getting about 17 mpg

 

Thank you! This is helpful. I’m stalled at the moment trying to get the last nut off the exhaust pipe so that I can drop the exhaust pipe down a bit. I have the nuts off the oil line and can pry that off when I get the last exhaust nut off. Going to try a stronger impact gun tomorrow and see if that can loosen it up. The last one is a real pain.
I have two studs still in the head, but it will be easier to work on those once the manifold is off. Putting it all back together once I have everything off is going to be a challenge as well. Not a lot of room down there to work on things and I don’t own a cherry picker.
I bought the LCE manifold, so after buying that there are no funds for the turbo upgrade, HA!
Tricks or tips on getting that last nut off the exhaust pipe would be helpful.
Thank you!

 

Soak it with BP blaster...
I bent a wrench to make it easier to reach
No simple solution... it's just patience, perseverance and trying....
You might have to take then off together

I used Allen head bolts when I put mine back together... it's easier to get an Allen wrench in those tight spots than a wrench... had to modify the Allen wrench as well...

You have studs not bolts in your head?

 

I need to look into getting some BP blaster, who sells it? NO simple solution for sure, :-(. Especially with not much room down there to work around. Going to hit it again tomorrow after work and hope for better results. May have to call on a neighbor with some muscle to see if he can bust it loose.
I like the idea about the Allen head bolts when putting it back together.
Modifying an Allen wrench is fine with me if it works for putting it back together.
The pic you shared looks great by the way!! Very clean!!

Yes, mine is held in with studs to the head and not bolts. I will use some bolts not he bottom side though when putting it back together.

 

Hey 87, follow up question.
So I got the old one off and it was not cracked!! :-). BUT I am still installing the new LCE since I have it. Another question, how in the heck do you get at and tighten the bottom nut that is in the grooved slot custom made for it? What in the heck kind of wrench can you get in to tighten that nut? Everything else seems to be going back together pretty good so far, but that nut is about impossible.
Any advice or suggestions?

 

Sweet my reply box finally showed back up!



Do not replace studs with bolts, like almost ever but especially on exhaust hardware. Think about the failure method of studs compared to bolts. If you are removing a bolt it's most likely to stretch and shear at the thread interface (for one), also exhaust hardware is designed to "bite" and not come loose.

Look at your basic exhaust studs, notice the knurled threads that go into the fixed side, these bite into the block threads when they try to spin outwards. Now look at the OEM exhaust nuts, notice the outer section is not threaded and has three points it contacted the threads these pinch points keep the nut from backing out (pro tip you can and should restake these since once you remove them they grins down the threads on the stud a bit)

I'm not seeing any slots cut I to the LCE exhaust manifold, however like most cramped quarter things there are stubby wrench's or procedures your might be skipping like for example removing the turbo out the bottom of the engine bay.


My turbo doesn't fit out that hole and y'all have loads of room to the side I just don't have.

 

Thank you. Sorry didn’t mean to imply I was using bolts to put it back together. Using studs and the new ones that came with the LCE. Its just that the bottom nut on the stud near the front, second from front edge is super cramped and not easy to get to. Going to try a crow’s foot wrench to get at that one.
It is coming together, slowly.

 

This is why I wanted to mention the studs vs nuts. There are also some tight spots you would not be able to get a long enough bolt in unless you started with that bolt already in half the mating surface while the stuff is on the bench. You're of course under no obligation to abide by my choices.

Short wrench's and offset wrench should get you there eventually, there are a few things that you can only move a tooth at a time on your twelve point box wrench thankfully only a few. I've forgotten to hang the heater pipe on its bolt at the EGR cooler plate, that was a long process.

 

Co... is right... the LCE manifold is awesome, BUT
there are a couple of nuts you have to start before you slide the manifold all the way on or you can't start them... hmmm you'da thunk someone coulda done better

 

I have lots of extras of the allan head metric bolts of you'd like some contact me and I'll ship them to you...

 

I've spent more time on some of those hard to get to bits than it would have taken to just pull the engine back out and put it on a stand where it's trivial to access, but when you're working in a parking lot at night after work its just not doable.

It seems there are still lots of photos floating around that don't represent the current product. The slotted mounts you reference are someone trying to do better with the cylinder heads tapped holes, the slots let you get that headstart on cinching down the manifold while it's in the engine bay. Just imagine how fun it was to get to before they slotted those bottom side bits.

..I'm not above wedging a five year old into the engine to get things mostly cinched down any more

 

Lol... I have recruited my wife with tiny hands on several occasions that my big mitts couldn't get it done no matter how much flesh I left in the engine bay...

 

Thanks CO and 87.
Yes, I am using the studs that came with the kit and I did have someone hold the manifold while I put those two tough ones on with my fingers as we slid the manifold back into place. I agree, you would have thought they would have designed the underside of that LCE much better and more user friendly.

I need to find a neighbor kid with tiny hands to reach those tough to get ones.
Can’t get back to it until Friday afternoon.

While I have both of you, do either of you know if it is possible to get an after market EGR valve that is specific to the turbo? (See attached photo). I replaced mine with just a standard ERG that you can get at an auto parts store, but it does not function in the same manner as the specific one for the turbo.

Thanks again guys, you’re both life savers here!

 

Yota1 says it's the same part. Based upon the mechanical function I don't expect it really needs a heavier spring if that is what the difference really was.

The vsv cutting off the flow is supposed to disconnect the modulator, combined with the positive pressure pressing on the pintle of the EGR valve it should not matter what the spring rate is.

 

Thanks, this is good to know.
Another follow up question. Why is it that when I drive it for errands with several starts, stops, it gets harder to start the truck after about the 5th time or so. Start it and drive it 30 minutes, turn it off, it sits about an hour, then drive it again and 5 and it sits 5, then start again, and turn off shortly there after. After a bit it starts to get harder and harder to crank over. I was told it was the ERG. If it take the vacuum hose off the top of the EGR and plug it with a screw it seems to run better. But that can’t be the issue with the starting/stopping it running can it?
What else can be causing the issue of not wanting to start?