One more and I'll quit for the day- I think.
At one time in the dark and distant past, one exhaust manifold stud must
have been broken off. It was drilled out and replaced with a through bolt.
It is the outside one (nearest the inner fender) so it is fairly easy to
deal with but nonetheless I am thinking about fixing it. Has anyone ever
used one of those solid threaded inserts for this application? A helicoil
set is expensive but the solid threaded bushes use standard drills and taps
for placement. The downside is that they are bigger. I expect that I
would have to drill and tap 1/2-13 for the insert vs 7/16 for a helicoil.
Also there are two types- one where you drive little stakes into the
threads to lock it and one that uses a locking compound. I don't think
that the locking compound would survive on an exhaust manifold but I am
concerned about the locking stakes cracking the already thinner ear of the
manifold flange.
The A's exhaust pipe was attached using bolts instead of studs and nuts. I
plan on using studs with brass nuts on reassembly. Any thoughts?
On disassembly, I used Liquid Wrench for a day or two and only got two of
the three bolts to loosen up. I went to NAPA and picked up some PB
Blaster. As a rule, I avoid anything that says "as seen on TV" on the
label but in this case, based on recommendation from this list, I thought
I'd give it a try. I don't know if it was the PB Blaster, long term
effects of the Liquid Wrench, or increased force brought about from
frustration but a few hours later the last bolt came loose. I am keeping
the stuff around.
Last question for the day. My tach cable is frozen in the drive. Any
thoughts about how to get it out? I've tried PB Blaster but no luck so
far. Not a big deal but it bugs me.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA missing some of the nicest weather so far this Spring because I had
to take her apart NOW.
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