exhaust removal advice

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
I am working on replacing the flex pipe on my 97 b4s. My friend has a welder, and we are trying to remove the down pipe from the turbo. We removed the axle for access, and the bolts are still stuck pretty well. We have heated them up with a propane torch and tried to remove with a ratchet. They weren't quite red hot. We tried 6 point 13mm (too big) and 12mm (too small) and found a 12 point 12mm will hammer down onto the nuts, but they feel like they are going to strip. I am thinking of making a small cut along the base of the nut where it seats on the turbo to relieve pressure and try again with the ratchet. Does anyone have any other ideas of what we can try? I suppose we can cut the nuts off but then we would have to drill out the studs...
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
1:1 Acetone and ATF mix
soak the F out of it for a day. get a better tip and use MAP gas, you can get them glowing red hot. let it cool and wiggle them back and forth until they move enough. takes a while.
chase the threads of the turbo with a tap before install .
if they snap, you did what you could and they can be drilled out and tapped without much difficulty if you make sure your drill bit is centered enough and strait enough.
do not use a extractor that could snap off and leave a hard chuck you can NOT drill out. best to snap off the heads vs that!
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Heat, penetrating oil, hammering on the nut etc. if you can get a nut splitter in there, that’s another option. If you get lucky, the stud won’t snap. I ended up pulling the turbo, and welding a nut to the snapped stud. The heat helped break it loose.

-Todd
 

gfnetadmin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Location
Ledgedale, PA
TDI
97 Passat
Kroil penetrating oil has worked for me, not only here but also on such things as those 8mm rear brake carrier bolts. As others have mentioned, soak well, tap with a hammer, repeat
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
Thanks, I'm going to give it another try possibly tomorrow. If I break the studs I have to take the turbo out right? I'll get some MAP gas and see what I can do. We will also put some pb blaster on it. I didn't realize they are pinched nuts...any tricks related to this? I just noticed that when I was looking for new ones on id parts.
 

rallywagon

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Location
Western NC
TDI
'98 Jetta, '00 Jetta
Get them just about red hot and spray on PB Blaster. It stinks, but it still does really well with heat and does not just flash away like many penetrants. Keep it wet with PB until it cools, then try back and forth, tighter/looser.
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
We got all of the nuts off and the downpipe, but we broke one of the studs. We will try the spray and heat. We are now waiting on stainless welding wire, and it is too cold to mess with the stud for now. Luckily the green one (96 B4s) is working well.
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
I wasn't able to remove the broken stud so just re assembled with three nuts holding it on. Seems good for now, happy to have a quiet and not so smelly car.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
That's less than ideal. The gasket is not going to last.
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
Could be the gasket won't last. I am thinking of clamping a small vise grip in there and leaving it.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
ive seen some jank in my life but (and im dead F'ing seirous here) if you do that, you gotta post a picture and then another one in 6 months after salty roads and temps have turned it as rusty as the manifold its holding together. If you actually do, rap a few METAL zip ties or something metal around the handles to hold it. Heat cycles might lostenn ............... WHY AM I ENCOURAGING THIS!!!!! i do want a picture of this, thats why.
 

bikeprof

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2005
Location
Pagosa Springs, Colorado(YEAH!)
TDI
1996 Passat B4 Variant white, 1996 Town & Country 3.8 LXI
LOL...
I need another vicegrip, where you located...?

Seriously... Weld a tab that you can cut, or torch off later, just my .2 inflated cents !
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
Weld a tab on the turbo and the exhaust downpipe, then drill a hole in both and bolt it together? That would be nice, but I was trying not to remove the turbo. I know it might not last forever, but as it is it is working great and I am getting back and forth to work. I'll let you know how long it lasts. There is very little rust in there so far. The exhaust is original as far as I can tell and just has a few spots of surface rust. It was originally from MD and has maybe 60k in the north.
 

Mongler98

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2011
Location
COLORADO (SE of Denver)
TDI
98 Jetta TDI AHU 1.9L (944 TDI swap in progress) I moved so now i got nothing but an AHU in a garage on a pallet.
VICE GRIP PLEASE> just tie some wire to it so that when it falls off you can not have it go into the biker riding behind you!
 

Reddogg12

Active member
Joined
Dec 24, 2019
Location
Delaware
TDI
1998 Vw Beetle TDI 259,000 miles 2006 Jetta TDI, 2012 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
it's not ideal but they do make a exhaust clamping bolt for broken studs. It's called Nickson clamp-A Stud. Sold on Amazon and other places.
 

BuckeyeMan71

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Location
Ohio
TDI
03 Jetta wagon
I am working on replacing the flex pipe on my 97 b4s. My friend has a welder, and we are trying to remove the down pipe from the turbo. We removed the axle for access, and the bolts are still stuck pretty well. We have heated them up with a propane torch and tried to remove with a ratchet. They weren't quite red hot. We tried 6 point 13mm (too big) and 12mm (too small) and found a 12 point 12mm will hammer down onto the nuts, but they feel like they are going to strip. I am thinking of making a small cut along the base of the nut where it seats on the turbo to relieve pressure and try again with the ratchet. Does anyone have any other ideas of what we can try? I suppose we can cut the nuts off but then we would have to drill out the studs...
Did you ever try a standard socket? If metric won’t fit it’s usually standard.
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
For now it seems fine with the 3 studs. When the weather is warmer I might try that Nickson clamp a stud, but chances are if it is working fine and staying sealed, I will leave it. Yeah, you are right that wouldn't be nice to leave a vice grip in the road.
 
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