Builds Buster Brown-Slow maintenance, slow owner, slowing my roll way down.

[Comet]

Little guidance and help needed. I deleted the EGR and in the process, snapped both bolts off the bottom of the exhaust. Stuck out just enough for me to cut a slice for a standard screwdriver to get in there. The bad part is it looks like I only have one shot to get these things out before the bolt stays in there forever. I started with penetrating oil and heat from a propane torch and after multiple rounds of oil and heat nothing was budging. I am hoping to keep everything together (not remove the exhaust manifold) and any ideas would be welcome.

 

[Ian Crawford]

Dangit, that sucks. I don't know if you've tried it but possibly a stud extractor would be worth buying and trying. Just keep hitting it with penetrant and heat.

Worst case, the exhaust manifold isn't too bad to remove.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Heat is your friend. Multiple heat/PB blaster cycles can help too.

If you remove the exhaust, you would have enough room to drill and tap from the bottom, but at that point, I'd just take the manifold off.

 

[gregnash]

Heard that a MAPP (?) torch is actually better than Propane and will get things hotter. That is the yellow canister you see when shopping for the blue propane torch canisters. May want to try that. Also seen tricks where if you get it cherry red then put a wax candle near the end of the threads where it goes into the manifold it supposedly helps loosen things up as the wax acts as a lubricant and is small enough to suck down into the threads in the manifold itself. I got lucky and took mine off when I was working on the head and then used a pair of vice grips to remove.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

You got it right, MAPP gas torch! That's what I use.

 

[Comet]

MAPP gas it is. My propane torch end actually can be used for MAPP. I thought about that as soon as my email told me Johnny posted. Thanks guys. Still hoping to not take the exhaust off. Just got most of it welded on. Never heard of the candle but it may go into action if kroil doesnt do the trick. I'm already burning the candle at both ends, might as well get some use out of it.

 

[roadstr6]

I know you don't want to pull the manifold(s) but I have to say that pulling mine and having a machine shop to resurface them was a huge improvement for me. No more intake or exhaust leaks. That is a big deal for these trucks. Pulling the manifolds is not a terrible experience if you end up having to do it.

 

[Comet]

Dave, it may come to that. It is amazing how many exhaust leaks I had to begin with. It seemed like every joint that wasn't welded leaked to some extent. Just trying to slow down the heaving of cash at this point. My $$ beater is thirsty for the coin!

 

[roadstr6]

I think I paid $100 to have the surfaces tried up. Another $30 for a Fel-pro gasket from NAPA. Not cheap but cheap enough and if you are struggling with intake leaks (like I was) it was worth every penny.

 

[Comet]

Weekend carnage of the exhaust was testing my patience. 35 years worth of heat/cool cycle of the exhaust didn't allow for much room for error. Went ahead and took the exhaust off.

 

[Comet]

One of the bolts came out with the EZ-Out. The second, that's a story for another weekend. MAPP gas is definitely the way to go. Now to weld a washer and nut to the bolt. EZ-Out is NOT EASY! Rear heat delete and @FJ40Jim allen head bolts are cleaning up the engine bay quite nicely.

I am going to take the approach to clean as I go along. This vehicle seems to have been ridden hard and put away wet. There's layers of dirt on everything and the seals that have cracked have left multiple layers of dried petroleum product. Great news is the rustproofing has saved a lot of the truck from rusting. See, always a silver lining on a crap burger!

 

[roadstr6]

Ugh! You have my sympathies, Travis. I wonder if you can find another rear exhaust horn that is not nannered up? They do slide right out of the manifold. That might be easier than trying to deal with that broken off EZ out.

 

[Comet]

@roadstr6 Great idea. The other fun part of this adventure is that the three bolts on the exhaust down pipe were is so tight that the iron came out with the threads. So not only do I get the pleasure of the EZ-Out, I also get to drill and retap three holes for bigger bolts. I really am making this truck my own, one bolt at a time. Oh, and the price per mile keeps going up (parts are less expensive than the 80 series though). I will turn the corner at some point.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Sucks about the ez-out, but I feel your pain.

For the other holes, helicoil thread repair them so you don't have to modify your exhaust downpipe as well.

 

[Comet]

I have never used a helicoil. Learning new things everyday. Bummer part is that I'm only home on the weekends to tackle things. Work keeps the lights on though. Thank you "Sir Dickhead". That just cracks me up every time I think about your experience on PM. Stay cool, see you guys soon (In Buster Brown).

 

[Comet]

In addition to the engine desmog, I have been tinkering with the interior. I took the "C" pillar (rear seat by your head) cloth off and it revealed a nut welded behind the hole. I can now easily bolt in three point seat belts back there. I will research what others have done and follow their lead. YEAH SAFETY!

 

[Comet]

Slow drilling sucks. I was able to get the second hole clear. Now a #10x1.5 bolt will be tapped to accommodate the Jim C. cover. 11/32 pilot hole for the #10 metric bolt. Here goes nothing.

 

[Comet]

Butchered hack job below.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nice work man. Did you end up drilling all the way through the ez-out? That's not ez to do

 

[Comet]

Since I am only home on the weekends, the stuck bolt was worrying me to no end. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, and all I was thinking about was how Buster couldn't breathe without all his parts reattached. I worry about him man! So I drove home last night after work, drilled into the sides with a smaller drill bit only to have two of them break off too. Emptied the MAPP gas on the bolt, cooled it off with #6, and just smashed the sh#t out of the EZ-Out. I ended up pushing the entire thing through to the other side (EZ-Out and bolt). After drilling and tapping the new hole, I felt good enough for #6 in my belly rather than all over the manifold. Showed up at work this AM with a renewed sense of purpose. This Land Cruiser thing really is a sickness. That's four hours of driving just to calm the beast within.