Oil pan gasket/ removing exhaust (Help)

[crankster139]

Allright, I've got a '99 Taurus SE with the vulcan V6, and I blew an oil pan gasket. I was able to remove everything except the catalytic convertor (the one behind everything) and I need any info. at all how to get a socket up there to get that mother off! ANY help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[irish30]

Unfortunatly in the shop we cut the stud with a torch. I have tried so many times to get a swivle or some other contraption up there to loosen it but nothing works. It is a very poor design. Cut the f#*#*er and buy a new stud. Good luck.

[Dan_in_WA]

I'm in the middle of this very job, on my '96 with the Vulcan. Here's what I did:

On the stud/nut towards the passenger side of the car, I was able to get a 15mm deep well socket (3/8" drive) onto it, immediately followed by a well-used swivel and a couple of long 3/8" extensions. Then I used a 3/8" to 1/2" adapter, and the longest 1/2" drive I own, and SHOVED!!

It was at an odd angle. There must have been 20 degrees or so of mis-alignment. The extensions and swivel wanted to walk around the side of the exhaust pipe, but it came off in the end.

There's one!

Now, for the one on the driver's side: This one is evil. And I hope you're a pretty strong individual, or you're going to need a (preferably crazy) helper.

Attach the box end of a 15mm wrench to the nut on this stud. Then, working from underneath, use a prybar of some sort (I used my BIG screwdriver) as a lever to force the wrench around.

I put the end of my screwdriver in the open jaws of the 15mm wrench, and using the crossmember on the frame as a fulcrum, grunted and shoved that bleeper-blanking bleeping bleep of a bleep etc. and so forth until I broke it loose.

It will take quite a while to slowly back this nut off using this method, but it will get you there in the end, as long as you're as stubborn as I am.

Stay tuned for details on how I get this MF back together!

[crankster139]

Thanks for the help guys, I'm fully armed with an methel-acetylene torch and a couple of really long socket extensions. I'll try heating up the bolt, and if I can't get it off, I'll get mad and cut that mother off!

[Dan_in_WA]

My car is back together, and on the road. As suspected, the nuts for the rear exhaust manifold were the worst to contend with.

But once I got 'em started, I was able to work from the top, driver's side, and tighten them both down with a 15mm combination wrench. Took awhile, but I got the job done.

Only thing that came up, was getting the pipes to align properly on the bottom of the exhaust manifolds - a helper would have been great, to hold the thing in place while I hand tighten all the fasteners. But I was by myself, so I just had to slowly sneak everything into position, going around and tightening things up a little at a time, so that nothing got in a bind.

Good luck with yours!