Tom

I've used galvanaized nut and bolt combinations on my VW's exhaust
for years..  I just go down to Home Depot's fence department (or the
like) and buy replacement fasteners. They usually don't have to be
metric.  For Exhaust port nuts,  ask your local VW Flaps for brass
alloy replacement nuts.

Tom Goff <vanagon@TGOFF2.GSFC.NASA.GOV>  wrote:
Subject: exhaust nuts and bolts

I just went through the replacing exhaust pipes blues.  I had to use nut
spliters, destroyed a sawsall blade, exercised the cutting torch, and only
nicked two knuckles.  I still only managed to replace the muffler, tail
pipe, "J" pipe and the rear main pipe to number 2/4 cylinders.  I found
two bolts holding the exhause to number 2 cylinder, normal nuts on number
4 cylinder, odd bolts/nuts on the J to muffler (one was a hardened bolt
(see sawsall blade above)), and two VW nuts.  I define VW nuts as the
steel nuts with "helicoil looking" brass colored threads as used in the
early aircooled bugs.

I am soliciting advice from the group concerning the replacement of all
bolts/nuts (metric 8-1.25 of various lengths) with stainless steel,
berillium, or whatever it takes to make this job less painfull in the
future. The forward number 1 and 3 cylinder pipe is still original but
there isn't enough left of the nuts to consider using a wrench, etc. to
try to remove them so I let sleeping dogs lay until I have to replace this
pipe too. I suspect that I will have to torch the nuts off, thereby
destroying the studs. Is it an OK idea to replace the cylinder studs with
stainless bolts?

------------------------------------------------
Tom Goff - 1984 full Westy - original ower, 92K miles - Highland, MD

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Steve Blackham  M.S.M.D.

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