So Many Problems, What Should I Fix First?

[theaveng]

Originally Posted by Need4Speed

Hey, the drilled and slotted rotors are well worth it, think of the weight savings! ......maybe I should get out the drill......

You would save a lot more weight by:
- throwing out the spare
- only filling the tank half full
- removing the carpet & storage bin
- going on a diet until you have BMI ==19. For some of us that's 100 pounds reduction right there! LOL.

[amalia]

Holy - - - -! Would you put an "after" picture on when you get all that done? I'd like to see the finished product. I thought I had patience but you got me beat.

[inblackwell]

So, I need to remove the first cat. I've got to drill out the bolts that connect it to the down pipe so I can get rid of the vise grips (see earlier post). The problem is that the nuts and studs that connect the cat to the manifold/engine block(?) are completely rusted (see pics). I've already ordered new nuts and studs. How do I get those rusted nuts and studs off without breaking them off in the manifold/block? I haven't touched them yet, but it is pretty clear that a wrench won't be able to grab those nuts due to the rust.

[Willie Williford]

Spray with "rust buster" and let sit for 12 Hrs.
You might have to use the free vise grips on the nuts.
If you need a 1st. CAT, I have one.

HTH
Willie

[inblackwell]

Originally Posted by Willie Williford

Spray with "rust buster" and let sit for 12 Hrs.
You might have to use the free vise grips on the nuts.
If you need a 1st. CAT, I have one.

HTH
Willie

Thanks,
I just picked up a can of PB Blaster. Probably should have bought a whole case...haha. I just wish there was a better way to get those studs out. Correct me if I'm wrong but if I break those studs off I'm completely screwed?

Mitch

[Willie Williford]

If they break (the studs), they will probably break flush with the CAT plate. You might have enough stud to clamp on to with the vise grips. It's a steel stud into alum. (Different metals) So can't say for sure. Heat on the alum. while unscrewing might help. (Expansion factor)
It'a all a crap shoot, but so is life.

HTH
Willie

[gilbertguy]

Soak it with the penatrant but you will probably need to hit it with heat from a torch. Get that nut nice and hot to break up the grip that the rust has on it. Also you can try a nut splitter, you can pick one up from any Autozone or car parts place.

[AbCaRed00]

[edit: missed seeing gllbertguy's suggestion prior to this posting: nut splitter]

2 PC Nut Bolt Splitter Buster Breaker Removal Tool Kit | eBay

I used one same as one of those shown above in the ebay picture of the item to literally spit the nut by crushing down sideways on it [destructively] so it could be removed from the studs. It worked well and with a little bit additional of chisel and hammer work to spread the break wider open further so the nuts first wiggled loose and then literally fell off.
_______________

Worst case for broken studs: I had a couple steel studs break off over time in the aluminum head of an old car: one stud where there was enough metal showing was removed by smacking the edge nub remaining around, as suggested above, using a small chisel and hammer. It worked ok once using that method but was not so lucky on a second broken stud where a hole had to be drilled to fit an 'easy out' inserted/tapped into the drilled bolt. [fwiw: I found use of a small mirror useful in lining it up straight as possible to the hole when starting drilling.] I used initially a drill bit that fit the hole pretty closely to get a center started, then once a drill point was started with the bigger drill bit, a smaller drill bit was used to make the hole for the easy-out tool so to not drill into the threads. Let's hope it doesn't have to go to that point!
Best of luck!

[inblackwell]

Thanks Guys,
Good thoughts. I hadn't heard of nut splitters. I may just start off with a torch around the manifold/block holes and my newly rescued vise grips and see if I can get the stud/bolt out as a unit. If those studs break I'm not sure how I get my drill in there. But I guess we'll cross that bridge when/if we get there. Wish me luck. I'll keep you updated.

-Mitch

[inblackwell]

Since Majestic Honda dropped the ball (two weeks to get a motor mount...really?) I took the opportunity to knock out some of the less pressing repairs. Thanks to this wonderful forum I was able to order perfect replacement buttons from Digikey with minimal effort (see pics). The replacement was quick and easy. While I had the gauge cluster out I went ahead and thoroughly cleaned the cluster and the vents. Trip buttons are working great now. It almost feels like a new car.