Trevor Watt <twatt@austin.rr.com> wrote in message news:<3F9DEF61.4020206@austin.rr.com>...
> The bolts on the manifold / downpipe flange aren't nearly as bad as the
> ones for the cat and muffler. I used Liquid wrench and alot of cursing
> to get the manifold/pipe bolts on my '92 YJ off. I ended up using the
> same technique plus a reciprocating saw to "remove" the muffler and cat.
> As for the donut gasket, be careful. I ordered an OEM (hah)
> replacement manifold that came with its own gasket and it wouldn't even
> fit right!
>
> Getting the old one off... I'd recommend attempting to twist the gasket
> off rather than pry. There isn't a whole lot of room where that flange
> is, and getting a pry-bar in there is going to be tough. Since it's a
> 97 you *might* be able to use a large screwdriver and pry it off by
> twisting. If not, get some heavy duty gloves and a butane torch
> (careful for wires) and try heating it up then twisting. Chances are
> using a penetrant isn't going to help you as much as some heat will.
> The good thing is that it's a throw-away part. If worst comes to worst
> and you still want to do it yourself you can always Dremel it off.
>
> The gasket needs to be pushed down onto the manifold flange prior to
> bolting on the downpipe. If it doesn't fit right up to the manifold
> flange then you need to either lube it up, get another one, or heat it
> up with a torch and try again. I eventually gave up and had a local
> muffler shop put a new gasket on and tighten everything down. Service
> cost me about $15. Hopefully you shouldn't run into this since you
> bought it from a dealer...
>
> Finally, you might want to consider removing the exhaust pipe from the
> cat to make working on the manifold/exhaust flange easier. If it's like
> mine, there's a rubber insulator mounted on the transmission housing
> that the cat plugs into via a bracket that bolts on with the exhaust
> pipe. This means there's enough play in the pipe to move it a little
> out of the way, but probably not enough to work on the gasket.
>
> Best of luck!
>
>

Thanks for all the good advice. I plan on tackling this job on
Saturday and will let you all know how it turns out. Can't wait to
get the Banks Stinger in place.

Brad Fuqua
97 TJ Sahara

 

Trevor Watt <twatt@austin.rr.com> wrote in message news:<3F9DEF61.4020206@austin.rr.com>...
> The bolts on the manifold / downpipe flange aren't nearly as bad as the
> ones for the cat and muffler. I used Liquid wrench and alot of cursing
> to get the manifold/pipe bolts on my '92 YJ off. I ended up using the
> same technique plus a reciprocating saw to "remove" the muffler and cat.
> As for the donut gasket, be careful. I ordered an OEM (hah)
> replacement manifold that came with its own gasket and it wouldn't even
> fit right!
>
> Getting the old one off... I'd recommend attempting to twist the gasket
> off rather than pry. There isn't a whole lot of room where that flange
> is, and getting a pry-bar in there is going to be tough. Since it's a
> 97 you *might* be able to use a large screwdriver and pry it off by
> twisting. If not, get some heavy duty gloves and a butane torch
> (careful for wires) and try heating it up then twisting. Chances are
> using a penetrant isn't going to help you as much as some heat will.
> The good thing is that it's a throw-away part. If worst comes to worst
> and you still want to do it yourself you can always Dremel it off.
>
> The gasket needs to be pushed down onto the manifold flange prior to
> bolting on the downpipe. If it doesn't fit right up to the manifold
> flange then you need to either lube it up, get another one, or heat it
> up with a torch and try again. I eventually gave up and had a local
> muffler shop put a new gasket on and tighten everything down. Service
> cost me about $15. Hopefully you shouldn't run into this since you
> bought it from a dealer...
>
> Finally, you might want to consider removing the exhaust pipe from the
> cat to make working on the manifold/exhaust flange easier. If it's like
> mine, there's a rubber insulator mounted on the transmission housing
> that the cat plugs into via a bracket that bolts on with the exhaust
> pipe. This means there's enough play in the pipe to move it a little
> out of the way, but probably not enough to work on the gasket.
>
> Best of luck!
>
>

Thanks for all the good advice. I plan on tackling this job on
Saturday and will let you all know how it turns out. Can't wait to
get the Banks Stinger in place.

Brad Fuqua
97 TJ Sahara

 

Trevor Watt <twatt@austin.rr.com> wrote in message news:<3F9DEF61.4020206@austin.rr.com>...
> The bolts on the manifold / downpipe flange aren't nearly as bad as the
> ones for the cat and muffler. I used Liquid wrench and alot of cursing
> to get the manifold/pipe bolts on my '92 YJ off. I ended up using the
> same technique plus a reciprocating saw to "remove" the muffler and cat.
> As for the donut gasket, be careful. I ordered an OEM (hah)
> replacement manifold that came with its own gasket and it wouldn't even
> fit right!
>
> Getting the old one off... I'd recommend attempting to twist the gasket
> off rather than pry. There isn't a whole lot of room where that flange
> is, and getting a pry-bar in there is going to be tough. Since it's a
> 97 you *might* be able to use a large screwdriver and pry it off by
> twisting. If not, get some heavy duty gloves and a butane torch
> (careful for wires) and try heating it up then twisting. Chances are
> using a penetrant isn't going to help you as much as some heat will.
> The good thing is that it's a throw-away part. If worst comes to worst
> and you still want to do it yourself you can always Dremel it off.
>
> The gasket needs to be pushed down onto the manifold flange prior to
> bolting on the downpipe. If it doesn't fit right up to the manifold
> flange then you need to either lube it up, get another one, or heat it
> up with a torch and try again. I eventually gave up and had a local
> muffler shop put a new gasket on and tighten everything down. Service
> cost me about $15. Hopefully you shouldn't run into this since you
> bought it from a dealer...
>
> Finally, you might want to consider removing the exhaust pipe from the
> cat to make working on the manifold/exhaust flange easier. If it's like
> mine, there's a rubber insulator mounted on the transmission housing
> that the cat plugs into via a bracket that bolts on with the exhaust
> pipe. This means there's enough play in the pipe to move it a little
> out of the way, but probably not enough to work on the gasket.
>
> Best of luck!
>
>

Thanks for all the good advice. I plan on tackling this job on
Saturday and will let you all know how it turns out. Can't wait to
get the Banks Stinger in place.

Brad Fuqua
97 TJ Sahara