'torch method' to remove egr tube from headers...

[direktdrive]

hey guys, I'm in the process of changing my headers. I'm stuck trying to loosen the egr tube but it won't budge. If I try any harder, I'm going to round the nut.

but, I heard of the 'torch method' with heating up the egr socket on the headers. Any of you guys done this? Any tips with how hot you need to heat up the headers to loosen up the egr tube?

[-RJ-]

id just get rid of it. i had to cut mine off

[applespeed]

have you tried wd-40 or "liquid wrench"? it loosens up the threads by eating away the rust. i had the same problem but after letting the chemical soak for about 15 minutes, i was able to turn the nut...

[lofapoo]

WD-40 does no such thing.

Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster usually do the trick. Blast it, wait a few hours, blast it again, wait a few minutes, then try.

Some are simply stuck in permanently.

Out of the three spare manifolds that came into my possession, I could only remove one cut EGR pipe. We're talking strapped in a vice and using a big cheater bar. Hence why so many people cut them, and use rubber hose and hose clamps to bring them back together (works fine, btw)

[applespeed]

^uh...yes it does.

wd-40 works great in loosening rust-to-metal bonds.

[-RJ-]

^uh...yes it does.

wd-40 works great in loosening rust-to-metal bonds.

no it does not.. PB blaster is 20x better

[applespeed]

^yeah wd-40 works too. try it. of course pb blaster works better cuz thats its primary purpose.

[albdrift]

Cut it off

[wild child]

heat up the area around the tube, not the tube. get it red hot. if you get the tube part red hot, it will probley just squish on you. you want to try to expand the threads on the header . maybe the tube can unscrew when you do that.

j

[Rucca]

Or, heat it glowing red, cool it down with water and repeat like 4 times. Then heat it glowing and go for it.

The rapid expansion and then shrinking causes the rust to break pretty well. Works great on rusted and corroded things. More than likely the bolt will round or break though. Just no getting around it on old exhaust bolts really.

[verSat1l3]

I just did mine 20 minutes ago. PB Blaster all the way. You might have to reapply several times and wait a while. Get a large 24mm wrench and do work!

[sil80tt]

lol Yea dude! Same thing happened to me wen i was taking mine off! I Basically wat i did was was cut it off with air hack saw and bought a new one. Best bet is to get a used one from a junk yard or something. After i cut it and took it out it was still stuck 2 my Headers so thats when i used the "torch method" Just heat around the Nut itself till its red hot then quickly loosen it up with a wrench cuz if u heat the tube its just gunna expand with the heat and make it harder to come off. Its a pain but dats da way i got mine off. Hope dats any help. Got some pics if u wanna see how i did it.

Good luck!!

[silpena]

i'd just spray pb blaster on it every night before i go to sleep for a couple of days and soak it. Let it work its way for a couple of days and give it a shot. That usually does the trick for me but u need patience.

[idriftnsj]

i ended up cutting mine then used a piece of hitemp hose to put inbetween them

[MagnumP_I]

I sprayed WD 40 then let it sit for like 10 min came back with a torch lighter and a big adjustable wrench and then it came loose. I was super happy but then I put in headers an realized the spot for the tube was now on opposite side so I got pissed an cut it caped it an bam works great.

[direktdrive]

Thanks everybody for all the input. Came across my lost thread just today. lol.

I've attempted the liquid wrench method before but the nut wouldn't budge. I guess I never gave it enough time to soak in.

So...Like slipena was suggesting, I'm going try the pb blaster method and apply it every night. Let's see how that goes first before I start sawing.

[-RJ-]

cut it off then plug it up, takes 20 minutes

[direktdrive]

cut it off then plug it up, takes 20 minutes

can't do, I live in good old ol california.

That's like automatic failure for visual inspection during smog testing.

[leper421]

As everyone suggested, use lots of PB. Also use MAPP gas instead of propane. MAPP gas burns hotter than propane. It is sold in yellow cylinders, while propane is sold in blue cylinders.

[direktdrive]

for those you still reading this thread, is there a possibility that when i torch the threads on the header, it could melt due to extreme heating?

[Chaluska]

On mine, i used good ol PB blaster.

WD-40 stands for water-displacement. It doesnt do crap for eating rust.

PB blaster is the best thing under the sun as far as im concerned.

I sprayed PB on my EGR tube, let it soak, smacked it with a hammer on the manifold end to jolt any rust possibly loose. then i hit it with pb blaster again, repeated about 10 times, and the nut was practically finger loose.. i used a typical crescent wrench, and it loosened with no problem.

[direktdrive]

woah thats awesome! Thanks for the input.

[leper421]

for those you still reading this thread, is there a possibility that when i torch the threads on the header, it could melt due to extreme heating?

Nothing will melt with a propane or MAPP torch. No worries unless you are using an oxy-acetylene torch with either a welding or cutting tip (with the extra oxygen boost for cutting), and even then the only thing that would melt quickly is the tube, not the nut.

[Axoure Dragonkin]

where do i get the flexible tubing to fix after I hack through the pipe?