In a message dated 9/8/02 7:25:20 PM, Cotsford@AOL.COM writes:

<< Its sounds like I am guaranteed to have some stripped threads ?

Are the fasteners not going to break off rather than strip out ?   On other
vehicles, I have had to deal with that.

Is there a really really good brand of penetrating oil? >>

Steve,

Who knows?  You may have better luck than I, but I have learned to live with
bad Karma.  I am in the middle of some exhaust work as we speak.  In removing
the front header my score is: 2 fasteners removed rather tentatively but
unstripped; 1 stripped stud hole; one broken stud.  I would rather strip the
tapping than break a stud.  Because, if a stud is stuck with such tenacity
that it is wrung off when you are trying to undo the nut, you can be almost
certain that no extractor will remove it.  When a stud breaks, there is the
additional tedious work of drilling it out accurately, whereas, if the hole
is stripped, it forms a pilot hole for the Helicoil installation.

The work I am doing revealed a particular bit of nastiness.  In redoing the
exhaust, someone stripped the 8 MM tapping, retapped it to 10 MM, then
stripped the 10 MM tapping.  When I found it, it had an 8 MM X 10 MM stepped
stud epoxied into the stripped stud hole.  There is always something new and
interesting with these old Vanagons.  Now I have a hole which is way too
large for an 8 MM Helicoil and with scant little meat left in the stud boss.
I bought a keylocking insert (and a special drill and a special tap and an
installation tool and . . .) which I sure as hell hope will do the job.  This
all started when I noticed one of the exhaust nuts missing from an exhaust
flange.

Penetrating oil?  I have tried a bunch including Kroil.  Too me, it seems
that PB Blaster is as good as any and it is readily available.  One of the
list members (Bulley, I think) wrote of a technique he learned from his
grandfather which involved applying penatrating oil and tapping the fastener
over a period of time before removal is attempted.  Perhaps he  would be
willing to supply the details.

As I am sorting out a van, such as now, I replace all the fasteners on the
exhaust with stainless steel and I use antiseize lubricant.  This makes all
the difference in the world because it removes all that uncertainty.  In
fact, I try to replace any unrated fastener which I have to remove with
stainless.

Good luck,
George