best way to unbolt a turbo elbow

[Chaingun]

so I'm about to separate the exhaust from the turbo so i can pull the turbo on my head gasket swap, there are 4 nuts holding it to the turbo, and three to the exhaust (I'm sure you all knew that) which ones are best to remove, and if so whats the best method to do so? also if i guy had enough lifting force could the exhaust manifold minus the turbo, and the intake manifold's lower half stay on the head as i pulled it out? any help would be greatly appreciated here

 

[89supra884]

i just did my headgasket a few weeks ago. i am running open dump since i havent gotten an exhaust since my motor swap, but i actually just unbolted my manifold and just pulled it back. i would try to just unbolt the exhaust and just try to pull it back, saves u the time trying to unbolt the oil return line because that bolts knda a pain to get to. also u can just leave the lower manifold on, it helps because its something to grab on to. if u have nay more questions feel free to pm me.

 

[GrimJack]

First off, good luck. The nuts and bolts on the stock exhaust are, without fail, seized in some way. I'd park it, wait for it to cool, spray it with thread penetrating oil of whatever type you prefer, wait overnight, then tackle it in the morning. If you're lucky, you'll get enough off that you can remove it this way. If you're average, expect to fight with it for quite some time.

One of the biggest selling points of a downpipe with an integrated elbow is THREE LESS STUPID fasteners to deal with.

Oh, and get a swivel head ratcheting wrench, it helps a lot.

 

[Chaingun]

been parked for a few days, cause i wasn't starting this with the engine warm at all, i'll for certain want to replace the elbow and downpipe at a later time, but i can't afford it at the moment. I have a swivel ratchet, so that's not an issue, but it looks to me like one of the 3 is gotta be a pita no matter what tools i have. i like the idea of unbolding the exhaust completely and sliding it back out of the way. but i'm toying with the idea of lifting it all (manifolds still attatched) out with my electric hoist, hopefully reducing the chance i might strip out a stud on the exhuast which i can't afford to have repaired atm. Right now the pulleys are off, timing belt is removed, cam gears and rear plate are off, valve covers and valley cover are out, upper intake manifold and all related electronics are out of the way. Also all coolant lines on the motor and the oil lines on the turbo are off. the only things holding the head in are 14 bolts and the exhaust.

is there any reason why i can't leave the manifolds on when i pull it? with the turbo and upper intake removed i don't see any issues with too much weight or anything of the sort, then i can carefully remove the exhaust and intake manifolds with it on the bench instead of in the car

EDIT the nuts are now sprayed down, hopefully i can break them loose when i can get back to the car on Wednesday, anyone know what size the turbo to elbow bolts are? I'm missing one.

 

[89supra884]

I belive u are going to have to remove at least the upper intake manifold due to how the wiringharness runs, they ran it all weired throigh the intake so that is gonna have to come off, and as for the exhaust manifold, I belive as long as ur turbo is off and the exhaust pipe is out of the way u should be able to pull the head with the manifold on. Although I have never tried, I always got lucky with the bolts coming off.

 

[spikesnstuff0905]

When i did mine i disconnected the entire harness. It's neccessary because the stock routing puts it through the intake manifold. I unbolted the turbo elbow from the exhaust housing, and with the o2 sensor unplugged, i used a bit of wire to pull it back and tie it to the firewall so it wouldnt get stuck on the studs. (The flex section in your DP is handy here.) Disconnect oil lines from the block because they're easier (personally) to get to, and the coolant lines, then unbolt turbo. I left the lower intake runners on, but you have to take the top off to remove the harness. With the various vacuum and coolant lines disconnected me and a few friends each grabbed a chunk of mani and pulled it out, as i don't have a hoist. If you want to remove the manifolds at this point it's much easier since you don't have to fight for space.

 

[Skeezix]

When I did my turbo swap I had good luck with those three nuts actually. One thing that I'm sure helped me is I don't have that first cat right off the downpipe. So I jacked up the car and with IIRC 12" and 6" extension swivel and 14mm i believe, and to make the job easy used an impact gun to take em off

 

[Chaingun]

i might give my electric impact a shot at those bolts, i honestly didn't think of that, i feel better about puling the head out now as i have planned to do, i didn't exactly follow the TSRM when i pulled everthing apart but i doublechecked when i got to this point, and the only things left are the head bolts, and the 3 on the exhaust. once they're out i can check the head for straightness and cracks, clean it up and hopefully be back on the road soon, keep your fingers crossed for me, in the ungodly event that it's cracked or warped too badly to be machined, what am i looking at in terms of a replacement head?

 

[spikesnstuff0905]

Depending on where you live, heads are $125 at the junkyard.

 

[hvyman]

Lower intake runner needs to be removed Unless your going to disconnect more than you have to to do a hg. ks, starter wires, and vsv's are right there and then you'd also have to take the glove box out and push the wires through. Just unbolt the lower and move it out of the way. You also wont have to unclip any of the injectors either. Its also a good thing to replace that gasket since coolant runs through it.

The exhaust manifold is going to add another 30lb +/- to lift the head off in an already awkward position. If you used a cherry picker it be a piece of cake. If you do remove the exhaust manifold soak the bolts in pb as they tend to seize on the stud and strip from the head.

 

[Chaingun]

i've got a 1200lb electric hoist weight isn't an issue, i've already removed all of the elctronics and wiring so it's not an issue, mostly because i want to replace my battery to starter wire and rewire the push button start with some heavier gauge stuff. the PO was a tard in that respect, the stripping of those bolts is preciesely the reason i want to avoid removing them, at a later date, i'd like to get a stock head and have it rebuilt a bit better but getting my car back on the road now is my primary concern. hopefully i don't have to source a new head, anybody got one they would let go cheap if i do?

 

[cricketjoe]

try using PB Blaster

 

[MDCmotorsports]

If the car is running, I have always let the car run and get up to temp. Then remove those pesky nuts on the back of the elbow. With some heat, they will come right off (so will your knuckle hair).

 

[Chaingun]

Those aren't the nuts i'm worried about, i'm concerned that if i change the exhaust gasket i'll bread off or strip a stud on the manifold

 

[Chaingun]

Frustration! try as i might, i can't get the bolts on the exhaust to come loose, i hit the two that remain with more PB after attacking them with my impact wrench for about 20 minutes, god i wish i could afford a new one piece down pipe right now