ATTN Mease DP owners!

[BuickMike]

DO NOT use the bolts that came with the downpipe that are supposed to bolt the DP to the turbo. I was stupid enough to use them and found out the hard way that they were not made for that kind of heat and will not come off without braking.

I've only put 100 miles on the car since putting on the DP. I had it apart for awhile since I was swapping out my bad cam. I recently got the car back together and cruised it around the neighborhood just to get the cam broken in. Tonight I noticed that the DP was sitting a little low so I decided to disconnect the exhaust, losen up the bolts to the turbo, and see if I could adjust it. I tried everything to get those things loose and then it happened...the F**KING head broke right off that P.O.S. bolt. I have never has this problem in the past and used to always just get high grade bolts from Ace. This time I decided to use the bolts that came with the DP and YES, I used anti cease. Well, now I have to bust off the remaining 3 bolts off and hope that someone somewhere can drill these things out or else I guess I'll have to lay out some $$ for a new Precision exhaust housing. And to top it all off, all of this headache comes from that damn downpipe that took forever to get in the first place. I'm so pissed off I feel like throwing up.

Anyways, beware out there and I hope this warning isn't too late for some of you.

 

[TRBON8R]

Mike,

Don't give up on that turbo housing yet. Hopefully the other three bolts will come out ok. I've been there and done that with a downpipe bolt that broke off in the housing. There is a place by me called "The Hole Shop" that specializes in doing this kind of work. They can remove even the most stuck bolts. Check around your local area. I bet there is someone that has the right tools and machinery to remove the broken bolt. The only bummer was that I had to remove the turbo though....

 

[Nick Micale]

You certainly not the first one to break a bolt in the exhaust housing!

To keep from having this problem, use studs. Just broke one in Jack Evers' GN and he now has studs. I was lucky enough to remove the broken piece w/o removing the turbo.

 

[Scott Atk]

I've been there and done that also. I have better luck removing those bolts when the turbo is nice and hot. I just take it out for a quick rip, and they seem to come out easier.

 

[Reaper]

Mike, just go to checker and get exhaust manifold studs. i have been running them for a while now it makes install easier also..



let me know if you need help i have a torch and a bad temper. i will get it unstuck!


Dathan

 

[GNVYUS 1]

I feel your pain, I had my BG allen head bolts strip right the hell off. Nice 2 hours of drilling out the bolts, but it worked.

Just get stainless grade 8's and you'll be ok. Might want to find a few good electric drill batteries and some drill bits, this sucks.

 

[TurboJim]

Originally posted by BuickMike
DO NOT use the bolts that came with the downpipe that are supposed to bolt the DP to the turbo. I was stupid enough to use them and found out the hard way that they were not made for that kind of heat and will not come off without braking.

Bah.. I used standard grade 5 bolts and mine didnt sieze. If I remember right, the bolts go into a externally accessible "ear". Heat the "ear" with a torch till its cherry, then take the bolts out

 

[Warp6]

Originally posted by Scott Atk
I've been there and done that also. I have better luck removing those bolts when the turbo is nice and hot. I just take it out for a quick rip, and they seem to come out easier.

I agree. I always run the car briefly before trying to remove those bolts. Never had a problem with a warm turbo. Cold and they're a pain.

 

[49-blues]

Anyone have the part numbers or sizes for the exhaust housing studs-thanks?

 

[Mease Performance]

Re: Re: ATTN Mease DP owners!

Originally posted by TurboJim
Bah.. I used standard grade 5 bolts and mine didnt sieze. If I remember right, the bolts go into a externally accessible "ear". Heat the "ear" with a torch till its cherry, then take the bolts out

absolutely Jim, if you have aleready broken one off, remove the turbo and MIG weld a 5/16" nut to the broken bolt threads, make sure you penetrate and weld to the stud before you fill the nut with weld (MAN that sounded a lil kinky but ok ) heat the surrounding area and remove the nut, if you break it off again, simply reweld and try again...You will get it out if you didnt gall the threads too bad...

2) stop whining about the bolts we give you, they are the highest grade tool steel you can possibly buy, its not our fault they broke, use anti seize on them, and chase your threads with an M8X1.25 tap (you can get THAT from ace . Studs will help, but they break too....of the hundreds of pipes we have sold, I've had maybe two or three stragglers complain about breaking a bolt off in the housing...

good luck!

 

[BuickMike]

Thanks for the encouraging words.

I was just so pissed off last night I had to rave and rant. I always used to go to Ace and get Grade 8 bolts for my older DP's. I never had any problems at all with them. This time I decided to use the allen head bolts that came with the DP just because they look nicer. Man, what a mistake. I even thought about getting different bolts before I put this thing on, but decided that the allen head bolts would probably work fine.

Dathan, I may need you to come by with that torch...I'll keep you updated. I'll see how far I get tomorrow morning.

 

[petesgn]

I have a mease dp and used the supplied bolts on mine just put some anti seize, taken it off bunch of times never broken a bolt yet .

 

[QuickWrench]

...and chase your threads with an M8X1.25 tap...

Keith's dead on here. I've had downpipes on and off of a ton of different cars in the last decade. I ALWAYS chase the DP threads before installing a new pipe or set of bolts, or when taking the DP off of a car for the first time.

Use a light coat of oil on the tap, so you don't remove too much metal. When the tap gets a little tight, back it out, and blow the hole out with compressed air. Repeat until the tap bottoms out, then use a pipe cleaner with some laquer thinner or WD-40 to clean the threads. You won't believe how much garbage comes out of each hole.

 

[BuickMike]

I'll do that. I've always just blown out the bolt holes and put bolts back in with anti-cesase in the past and never had any problems until now. I'll definately tap these out when I get the bolts out. Like I said, I always used grade 8's in the past and I should've gone with what always works.

 

[salvageV6]

I thought they were M8 x 1.5???

 

[Chris McDade]

I had the problem once. I now use alot of anti seize and don't have anymore problems.

Good Luck

 

[Scott Atk]

As far as "anti-seize" goes. You should really try and find some copper based stuff versus the more popular aluminum based. The copper is rated for exhaust temps whereas the aluminum isn't.

 

[ChrisCairns]

John Craig uses nickel based on his turbos. It's higher temp rated but hard to find.

 

[Mease Performance]

THANKS ALLAN!!!

Originally posted by salvageV6
I thought they were M8 x 1.5???

YES you are correct, sorry I'm OUT of it before my coffee in the morning!!!

Mike, the bolts we supply are a minimum grade 8, I believe they are actually grade 10 socket caps....we didnt accidentally supply you with stainless did we???

thanks!

 

[Iceman]

Check this out
http://www.kraftindustrialsupply.com/ANTI-SEIZE COMPOUNDS.htm