5.slo

I have a nasty exhaust leak on my 95 Z28 from the passengers side exhaust manifold(stock manifolds), Its ticking like crazy and I can feel the air puffing out of it. Im getting really sick of listening to it but before I replace the gaskets I wanna try tightening up the bolts since I can feel by hand that they are loose. I was able to get the very last bolt with a stubby 9/16 box wrench, my problem is I cannot get a grip on the 5th bolt. I can get my fingers on it and can feel that its loose but I cant get any kind of tool on it, just not enough room. Any tricks to getting to this bolt? After owning 4 mustangs I must say that these LT1's are super tight under the hood. Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. Thanks

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

When you say the "5th bolt", on which side do you mean, drivers side or pass side....5th from the front or 5th from the rear?


Usually, however, either a box wrench, or a 3/8" "breaker bar" with a short socket or deep socket does the trick.

5.slo

leak is on the passengers side. Its the 5th bolt from the front.....second from the firewall.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately, the way my car is "shoehorned" into the garage, I can't easily pop the hood and take a look. However, I have had the manifolds off in the past, and as I already mentioned, some combination of sockets and/or stubby, or short extensions should do it for you, unless the head of the bolt has been damaged.

5.slo

did u access it from under the hood or did you have to go from under? Im hearing to get to that bolt that you need to gop from under the car, drop the starter and Y pipe to get to it? Thats crazy to get to one bolt.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

The last time I removed an exhaust manifold was a few years ago. I was looking at another set of manifolds that were in my posession, and I noticed how much of a "carbon print" there was on the surface where the manifolds met the cylinder head. This indicated quite a mis-match with the ports on the head, so I took off the manifolds that were on the car, and found the same condition. I then broke out the die grinder, and "port matched" the manifolds, to remove any restriction/turbulance that this might be causing. However, in order to do this, I had to drop the Y-pipe from the manifolds, this naturally being done from underneath. However, the starter does not have to come out.

If you opt to do this, don't forget to disconnect the battery, as you'll be working in close proximity to the starter, and there's also an O2 sensor right there, that will have to be disconnected.

Also, if you do drop the y-pipe on both sides, it's a good time to change the spark plugs, as you'll have ALL KINDS of access with the "Y" out of the way, except for the front plug on the pass side, as it's buried underneath the A/C tubes....