Posts: 62
Joined: 7/22/2003 From: United States Status: offline
im going to buy mac shorty headers for my 5.0 but my dad scared the hell out of me by saying im gonna snap the bolts in half and one half is gonna be stuck in the engine block....can someone please give me some convidence and a good method on getting the stock headers off carefully thanks-
Posts: 1655
Joined: 6/14/2003 From: Poplar Grove, KY Status: offline
try to loosen the bolts they usually come right out. if not then try a little heat from a torch. if you dont feel comfortable with that then take it to the local exhaust shop and have them do it. that way if they break something they willl have to fix it. I am sure you dad could point you towards a good one.
Posts: 2199
Joined: 3/31/2003 From: United States Status: offline
Sounds just like my dad when I put the header on my car.
When a bolt sheers off, all the pressure that was holding it in there was released. The easiest way to get it out is to take an awl and a hammer and hit it along (diagonally) the grooves and back it out.
Worse case sinereo you drill it out.
I just traded a car was for use of an electric impact wrench to get it off, get it on, and our torque wrench to get it down nice and tight without stripping something off.
Posts: 1477
Joined: 6/10/2003 From: B'ham, WA Status: offline
Get some AeroKroil and spray the bejesus out of the bolts (motor cold). Let it soak for a while. If any are still stuck, spray again and again. Let it sit overnight. If that doesn't help, try the torch or take it to a muffler shop.
soak them with some type of penetrating oil over night try taking them out...if a few don't want to soak them again while doing the rest they should all come out if you break one you and use an easy-out to get them out..
Posts: 1477
Joined: 6/10/2003 From: B'ham, WA Status: offline
I neglected to use the Aerokroil (orange can, possibly the best penetrating stuff on the planet) on an intake manifold bolt in my 87 GL wagon and ended up snapping it off. It took me longer to extract the broken part than the rest of the head gasket change. I ended up breaking about 4 extraction tools, and eventually I drilled the center out and bought a tap to chase the remains with.
Posts: 45
Joined: 7/10/2003 From: United States Status: offline
Also, my machinist neighbor says to tap the heads of the bolts with a hammer. It will break the rust bond. And as jeep said, if you twist one off, all the pressure is released. This is because the bolt head is what holds the bolt in there tight, not the threads. Something else to try if you twist them off, if possible to get a drill to them, get some reversed drill bits. Use a center punch to divit the center, drill it out with a small regular bit, then put in a little bit larger backwards bit, put the drill in reverse, it should screw it right out.
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help with headers - 
