I have 1986 v6 5 speed and I was planning on Taking of the manifolds and replacing them with new ones off the fiero site. Can Some people give me some tips and info about this project. I am a basic average joe that is still learning how to work on cars but i do well and research it before i do anything. So i was under the car today spraying Pb blaster and liquid wrench and letting it soak on the nuts.. Well when i was trying to spray the manifold towards the front of the car it was kinda hard and wasnt much room! So my question is how am i suppose to remove that one and get in there??? The one towards the back doesnt look all that bad to remove. But it would be great if i could get some information about this project tips etc. Thanks fiero forum

You are talking about one of the least fun jobs on the car but it can be done.

You'll want to soak with PB Blaster for about 2 weeks. The reason is that those bolts/nuts on the exhaust manifold are prone to breaking. It is a good idea to replace them with stainless when you have the chance or get some #8 grade studs or bolts. Studs are usually better.

When I did my forward bank I removed the CAT so I could work from underneath. Don't use a hammer, and do use 6 sided sockets.

You want a length of pipe on the end of your ratchet. This allows you to administer smooth torque on the job. Smooth torque reduces the likelihood of breakage.

If you do break a bolt off, you will want to remove the dogbone brace, the motor shock, and loosen the engine mount, then jack the engine away from the fire wall to get a drill in there. A common fix is to install a helicoil kit but it requires getting the drill into the hole AT RIGHT ANGLES

Don't underestimate the importance of soaking those nuts.

When re-assembling, leave out the lower heat shield. You'll find re-using it will leave you with leakage and a PITA.

Good luck on it.

Arn

the bolts or stud nut behind the air conditioner is the worse to do ,you have to loosen the A/C unit ,its a pain to remove..
Unfortunately these bolts face down,,difficult for the penetrant to flow up.you can jack the car up high ,but only helps a little..
you can remove the engine deck lid this helps with the front bolts

I think this is best done from underneath
If you have the time port the exhaust manifolds this is a time consuming job ,but the best modification you can make to your car..Just eyeball inside the port all will be revealed !!
If you remove all bolts holding the wrench at a perfect 90o angle your chance of removal with out breakage increase.
if you break bolts on the front more difficult side you will have to remove the head,,or take it to a shop so they can remove the engine..
These bolts are very difficult to remove because of the hardness of the bolts ,,I just went thru this ,,the job is noobie possible but be prepared hope for the best prepare for the worst.
you need to drop the exhaust and remove the heat shields ,,any bolt you can remove with a combination wrench use one,, this is so you can have a perfect removal angle and not stress bolt,,hopefully yours have been removed in the past years and you may not break any .. the rear bolts can be drilled and removed soak soak soak and try to tap out with a punch tap clock wise and anti clock wise,, I broke 4!! but I offended the Fiero gods !!
Use the search feature on this forum for post on this subject

The most important thing is to be patient and not rush trying to get the bolts out. I would definitely remove the decklid as this will give you tons more room. Good Luck!

quote Originally posted by Arns85GT: You'll want to soak with PB Blaster for about 2 weeks.

This may be a silly question, but does that mean the engine can't be run during all that time? Or to put it another way, will the PB Blaster just burn off and not do anything if the car is driven during that time period?

I'm also in need of doing this job.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 03-09-2009).]

I don't think PB would actually burn off... It's a penetrating oil that lubricates and eats the corrosion and/or rust in the given area. Once you spray I would wait about a 1/2 hour before driving the car though. The heat might even help the lube out in doing it's job.... Liquid Wrench is also a really good product to use.

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I would try to spray the area at least once a day.... When I took my manifolds out the engine was out of the car so it was easier to get to but I still used Liquid Wrench before hand because of the stories that you hear.. It was no sweat after that. ---- oil leaks from the valve cover help too

if you drive it everyday. you could always reapply some more at the end of the day so it has time to soak in during the night when your sleeping.

This may help you out, my old thread on manifold replacement.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/065384.html

If the manifolds are hot, it does assist in breaking the bolts free, however, it only works for the first few unless you are pretty quick.

In my case, I removed the CAT so running wasn't an option.

Arn

quote Originally posted by Arns85GT: If the manifolds are hot, it does assist in breaking the bolts free, however, it only works for the first few unless you are pretty quick.

Arn, I think you misunderstood my question. I wasn't asking about trying to remove any bolts while the engine was hot.

I was asking if a running/hot engine would simply burn off the PB Blaster. In other words, during the two week PB Blaster "soak" period you mentioned, should the car/engine not be used?

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I was asking if a running/hot engine would simply burn off the PB Blaster. In other words, during the two week PB Blaster "soak" period you mentioned, should the car/engine not be used?

I soaked the bolts down in the evening, drove to work and back every day. It was a bit smokey at first but I got to love the smell of PB Blaster in the morning.

btw, I do carry a fire extinguisher.

i did this job not long ago, I find that removing the rear cradle bolts and tilting the cradle is the best way to do it. If your cradle bolts wont come out, you're in good company. I tried a million ways to get them out, the way that FINALLY did it for me was to cut a "door" in the frame next to the nut which the bolt threads into and heat it up cherry red with a MAPP gas torch and twist the bolt with the breaker bar, works like a charm. If you can take it out without any special tricks on your first try, cool but if not, dont waste any more time, bust out the cutting disc and the MAPP gas torch and get to it.

I didn't find any need to remove the decklid but if you do, PLEASE read toddsters thread on removing the V6, he has a section on removing the deck that would have saved me alot of trouble if I had read it before i tried removing my deck.

Once you have the cradle tilted, it's easy to reach the headers from the top. It IS necessary to remove the A/C compressor, you only need to remove the bracket, once the bracket is loose you can set the compressor down on the frame with all the hoses and stuff still attached. There are three 15mm hex head bolts that connect the bracket to the front cylinder head.

DONT slide your fingers along the edges of the new gaskets that you will be installing, they're razor sharp (seriously).

That's all i can think of for now. The other posts have lots more good info.

[This message has been edited by MordacP (edited 03-10-2009).]

quote Originally posted by jetman: I soaked the bolts down in the evening, drove to work and back every day. It was a bit smokey at first but I got to love the smell of PB Blaster in the morning. btw, I do carry a fire extinguisher.

I guess what I need to know then is if there's any advantage to doing it that way, or would it be better to just let the PB Blaster soak undisturbed for a couple of weeks?

I can drive another car if need be, so I'm just looking for the best way to prepare my GT's exhaust manifold bolts for their eventual extraction.

I can't stand the TICK TICK TICK anymore!

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I guess what I need to know then is if there's any advantage to doing it that way, or would it be better to just let the PB Blaster soak undisturbed for a couple of weeks?

I couldn't say for certain one way or another, I didn't take my car off the road while I performing this project. If you don't drive it, you can really soak it down big time, may be able to use a pick to provide a channel in the gasket to the bolt threads. If you do drive perhaps the heat cold cycles may help soak it in.

Good luck on the project.

I have to r&r the manifolds in my 87 GT. I plan to just drop the engine, & take the manifolds off ( already 2 bolts are broken off). while it's out, I plan to Loosen & clean & antisieze every Bolt (exaust, AC brackets, starter bolts, water pump, new front seal) while the engine is out. that way ,it's all done & nothing will "bite me in the ass" later.(where changing anything could be a problem trying to change in the future. I think it will be alot easier than trying to drill/ easyout/tap the bolts with the engine in the car. just my 2 cents. good luck

Once you gain access to the exhaust header bolts, I've found that tightening and loosening them over and over will allow them to come out without breakage. You have to feel the bolt and its limitations in each direction at the end of the turn. If you rock them back and forth to the edge of it not moving (a little more each time) and it should come out without breaking. It takes twice as long but you don't have to drill them out because of a broken bolt that way. Sometimes shocking the threads helps. You can shock the threads by whacking the bolts on the head with a hammer very hard several times. Turn the bolt both directions until you continue to gain "turnage" and they eventually come out.

I think the hardest part is gaining access to them. I always drop the cradle to do this job. It gives you the chance to inspect everything and clean up your block and cradle at your local power wash place.