[bshambam]

Hey all,

I'm looking for advice for these crusty exhaust manifold gaskets. All 6 of them seem to be stuck in the cylinder head. I don't want to damage the head by prying too hard. If anyone has experience with this situation, please give me a shout. Kind of stuck atm...



Thanks,

- William

[E92_William]

Yes mines were stuck in the head too. Get a flathead and start breaking them up. They're kind of soft metal ish sheets compressed together so they're easy to remove. You could also use a small flathead and pry them off from behind and reuse them if you don't beat them up too much.

[PhaseP]

+1 Work on them slowly prying piece by piece carefully.
From what I could tell, they are made of some bunched up very tin metal foil that is packed with pure carbon (like pencil lead carbon). If you poke on that directly but being careful not going through it all the way and not skipping and going into the head, they will start peeling and coming off.

It gives you an appreciation of how carbon is considered a dry lubricant, it is really slippery once you start to get it on your gloves.

[bshambam]

Thank you guys!

With your replies and a bit of confidence, i used a chizsel and a pick set and got these bishes out.

[bshambam]

umm any ideas how i can get those 2 lingering rusty studs out? haha

[E92_William]

Oh man. Well the one to the top left looks like it could still come out using I don't remember what it was I think an E6. The other you'll need vice grips for sure or some female extractor

[bshambam]

Perhaps I will coat some of the new studs with high heat clear primer haha.

I think I'll have to use locking vice grips.

[Bufalo]

Having a few of the studs in the engine helped align the new manifolds when I installed them. Is there a reason you're taking them all out?

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by bshambam

Perhaps I will coat some of the new studs with high heat clear primer haha.

I think I'll have to use locking vice grips.

Heat may help. From my experience the ones that had given me trouble had galled on the shoulder section of the stud with the aluminum block. A little bit of aluminum had came stuck on them when they were out at that area.

I think I left one or two real stubborn ones being afraid to break them off.

Having a few of the studs in the engine helped align the new manifolds when I installed them. Is there a reason you're taking them all out?

Speaking for myself not the OP, I had bought new replacement ones and it is good to replace them once you are there, for next time they will be in better shape. They rust and corrode with additional heat there. By the way some of them had come off as the nut had gotten corrosion welded to the stud. So you need to have replacements in hand. There is risk of breaking them off though.

About alignment, you put the new replacements ones in after removing old ones, so they still would do that alignment job.

[bshambam]

Originally Posted by PhaseP

...By the way some of them had come off as the nut had gotten corrosion welded to the stud. So you need to have replacements in hand. There is risk of breaking them off though.

Yup! That's what happened to me. This car is from Ottawa Ontario, Canada - so they salt the roads pretty bad and there is a lot of corrosion.

I'd say this bmw is holding up better than other chassis.

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by bshambam

umm any ideas how i can get those 2 lingering rusty studs out? haha

PB blaster/some kind of penetration oil.

Heat.

You can also thread two nuts on to the threaded section and lock them together by tightening them against each other. Then put a wrench on the inner one to back it out. Personally I'd spray them with penetrating oil overnight and then try to use the two nut method before applying heat

[bluewater328]

Originally Posted by matteblue3er

PB blaster/some kind of penetration oil.

Heat.

You can also thread two nuts on to the threaded section and lock them together by tightening them against each other. Then put a wrench on the inner one to back it out. Personally I'd spray them with penetrating oil overnight and then try to use the two nut method before applying heat

Kroil oil

[N8N]

use copper or brass nuts on the studs when putting everything back together. old school trick I've seen on everything from Studebakers to VWs. Won't corrode just like stainless, but won't gall like stainless. If the stud swells from rust you can blow the nut off with a torch without harm. If you can find stainless studs so much the better, stainless plus brass = best combo for corrosion resistance in high heat environment.

[PhaseP]

The oem nuts on those studs are copper

[jumpmanonlye92]

Originally Posted by bshambam

Thank you guys!

With your replies and a bit of confidence, i used a chizsel and a pick set and got these bishes out.

So do you for real just break the gaskets up until there is nothing left? How did you make sure reminants of the gasket weren't going to obstruct the new ones?

[Leucosticte]

Originally Posted by bshambam

umm any ideas how i can get those 2 lingering rusty studs out? haha

Either double nut method as others have said, or you can use a stud extractor socket.

Unfortunately for me, one of the studs snapped because I had to dremel off a stuck nut and I cut some of the stud by mistake, so I had to buy a stud extractor socket. Came out like butter with it. I also used it for a few other studs that were rounded out due to corrosion. Those I could've gotten out with the double nut method but I was lazy and figured I might as well use the tool since I bought it.

[hassmaschine]

I would just pry those gaskets out with a flathead screwdriver. it's not like it's a bearing surface or something, and the gasket is going to conform to the head and manifold anyway.