Exhaust Manifold Gasket problems...

[HijackTheLeft]

I've got an exhaust leak at the manifold, and I'm trying to change the gaskets, but I'm not able to get the headers out of the way to do so. There's an aftermarket header on it, and a few of the pipes are spot welded to the bracket, making it very hard to get the bracket out of the way to get the old gaskets out and the new ones in. Is this normal? Does anybody have any suggestions on how to go about doing this? I don't want to put to much pressure on the header, pulling it away from the engine, because I'm scared of damaging something else. I'm also having trouble getting a few of the bolts out of the engine. I've included a couple pictures of what I'm looking at. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[srpowered240sx]

disconnect the head at the cat. should be able to move the manifold then.

[tramp_drift240]

dude you need to disconnect the header from the rest of the exhaust system.

lulz.

[HijackTheLeft]

That's what I was afraid of. Thanks.

[tramp_drift240]

its just two bolts.

grab some pb blaster, itll make everything a lot easier.

[HijackTheLeft]

Yeah, I know it. It's just that I can't fit a regular jack under my car very well, don't own any jackstands, and am working on grass, so even if I did have the jackstands, they would sink. I was hoping to be able to knock this out in 10 or 15 minutes. womp womp. I'll have to take it to a friend's shop and do it some other time.

[srpowered240sx]

Yeah, I know it. It's just that I can't fit a regular jack under my car very well, don't own any jackstands, and am working on grass, so even if I did have the jackstands, they would sink. I was hoping to be able to knock this out in 10 or 15 minutes. womp womp. I'll have to take it to a friend's shop and do it some other time.

wuss. get a real jack. thats first day stuff.

[Slipstream]

Put it in neutral, and move it to concrete or pavement.

[ArcherV20]

Disconnect from the exhaust pipe, should be fairly straight forward.

Do yourself a favor too, get some jackstands.

[HijackTheLeft]

wuss. get a real jack. thats first day stuff.

As in the other post, more cuteness. You're loads of help, kid. I own a "real jack", as well as jack stands. However, I do not have them in my possession. The reason for their not being at my residence is not relevant to my problem, so I didn't mention it.

There is also not any level pavement to take it to, at least not anywhere where I'd be able to leave my car parked long enough to get the job done, since I live downtown and it's all 1hr parking. So I'll be taking it to a friends shop where I can work on it much more easily tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who responded with at least the maturity of a 15 year old.

[srpowered240sx]

As in the other post, more cuteness. You're loads of help, kid. I own a "real jack", as well as jack stands. However, I do not have them in my possession. The reason for their not being at my residence is not relevant to my problem, so I didn't mention it.

There is also not any level pavement to take it to, at least not anywhere where I'd be able to leave my car parked long enough to get the job done, since I live downtown and it's all 1hr parking. So I'll be taking it to a friends shop where I can work on it much more easily tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who responded with at least the maturity of a 15 year old.

you are such a douche. i tell you how to fix it, you get a "holier than thou" attitude about how you have all this stuff, and how us kids should shut up, and you dont even know how to change an exh manifold gasket. you dont like the answers us people that are smarter than you give, dont teh eff bomb!!!1!!!eleven!!ing ask.

[sommmatt]

you are such a douche. i tell you how to fix it, you get a "holier than thou" attitude about how you have all this stuff, and how us kids should shut up, and you dont even know how to change an exh manifold gasket. you dont like the answers us people that are smarter than you give, dont teh eff bomb!!!1!!!eleven!!ing ask.

QFMFT. You don't need level pavement to jack up the front of the car, either, just a working ebrake.

[Hijacker]

You don't need level pavement to jack up the front of the car, either, just a working ebrake.

Kids, don't ever listen to this kind of advice. It's how darwinism works.

Hijack....er? Wait...I'm teh eff bomb!!!1!!!eleven!!ing confused now I understand your delima. Downtown richmond is one of the worst places to try and work on a car. If you can get a jack under the front radiator support, you should be able to get your arm under the car to pop the cat/header bolts loose. It's not the best solution, nor really all that safe IMO (I hate wrenching on something that's only on a jack), but it's better than your current predicament. Another thing you could do is use some 2x4s or cinder blocks as impromptu jack stands. They don't sink into the ground since they spread out the load over a wider surface area than jack stands.

[sommmatt]

Kids, don't ever listen to this kind of advice. It's how darwinism works.

Admittedly, wheel chalks are ideal. But tell me what you would do when you have a flat on an incline? It's not like you can just roll your car to somewhere flat when you're on a 400 series highway.

[Hijacker]

The problem with jacking up on an incline is the possibility of the car falling off the jack. I'm afraid fo some kid jacking it up with the side facing downhill, and then he's wondering why his legs are crushed from 2700 lbs of car.

There are always acceptions to every rule. Yeah, if you're stuck on the side of the road with a flat, that's different. The likelyhood of the car falling off the jack goes down as the rear or nose is facing downhill. You're also getting the car up in the air for a few minutes to pop your spare on. Trying to pull a header off takes a bit longer.

Also, I call for tow trucks since I can't fit my spares on my car even if I wanted to The price I pay for having Z brakes all around.

[tramp_drift240]

the spelling errors in this thread are astounding.

lol, acceptions. like for college applicants.

you dont need to take your car to a shop to get the gaskets replaced. get some wood, or perhaps some plastic ramps to get the car up on.

and dont get an attitude.

Also, I call for tow trucks since I can't fit my spares on my car even if I wanted to The price I pay for having Z brakes all around.

why dont you get a 5th wheel to match the four youve got on the car. fullsize spare that will fit over the calipers.

[Hijacker]

Have you ever tried to fit a full size spare in the spare well of an S13? It sticks up, and I lose what little bit of trunk room I have.

Sides, I have friends with trailers in town I always call on

[tramp_drift240]

oh. well that works.

there was a dude on here actually who had a 300zx wheel or something as a spare, and made a new floorboard for the trunk of his car to fix the stick-outedness of the fullsizer.

im just gonna roll around with no spare at all. because cr kais + any other wheel as a spare = ugly as sin.

[Hijacker]

Heh. I only keep my original donut in the trunk to support the particle board that covers it.

[IanS]

Have you ever tried to fit a full size spare in the spare well of an S13? It sticks up, and I lose what little bit of trunk room I have.

Sides, I have friends with trailers in town I always call on

I rocked a full size spare for a while, even in the S14 it makes the trunk completely unusable. Now Im back to the space saver, I will just have to play musical tires if I get a flat on the front. Friends with trailers is always good, but friends with flatbed tow trucks is even better.

[tramp_drift240]

Friends with trailers is always good, but friends with flatbed tow trucks is even better.

i wish i had friends

[IanS]

i wish i had friends

What can I say, no one likes the smelly fat kids.

[tramp_drift240]

hey man. im 6'3, around 190ish pounds with a very athletic build.

however i normally take showers either once a day, or once every two days. but i tend to stay nice smelling for a while. imo.

[IanS]

hey man. im 6'3, around 190ish pounds with a very athletic build.

however i normally take showers either once a day, or once every two days. but i tend to stay nice smelling for a while. imo.

Pix of you in the shower or I call BS.

[tramp_drift240]

challenge accepted.

good thing i havent taken a shower yet tonight.