Its common place to turn a rounded off nut with a sharp chisel
I first point the chisel straight into the nut to get a bite and then angle
it in the so the nut turns counter clockwise.
This often results in the nut splitting and that's ok just use a vise grip
to spin it off
Bolts can be a little tougher I often drill or cut the head off and remove
the exhaust flange and this gives me a short stud to hammer on and grab with
my favorite stud removal tool channel lock 410 pliers
http://www.channellock.com/acb/stores/1/410_-_9_5_inch_NUTBUSTER_8482_P34.cfm
they are what vise grip wish they could be
Stud damage is a mater of percentage if the threads can be restored with a
thread chaser and hold a nut tight thats all it needs to do

Bob Donalds
Boston Engine

----- Original Message -----
From: "craig cowan" <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2007 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: exaust removal

> Well my father and i made an attempt at removing them (van's at my
> shop) only to find the following: The upper nut is now stripped
> (proabaly was to begin with) and the lower nut is almost entirely
> rusted off (VERY thin, no flat edges). How does one go about
> proceeding from here? We're thinking of cutting the nuts down the side
> with a hacksaw and hoping to break the nuts off, but then if we damage
> the studs (very likely) we will need to use a stud puller to remove
> them, which will require the entire exaust of that side of the engine
> (left side) be removed, making ANOTHER exaust port's worth of problems
> come to life. Have you got any exeperience here, or a hand you may be
> capable of lending? I have a lift and every tool imagineable, great
> minds to pick, but no time for them to actually do the work (i just
> cant afford to pay these nice people).
>
> The goal has been for quite some time to have this thing running for
> my graduation party this weekend, and it will be my primary means of
> locomotion (My only car) all of next week......
>
> -Craig
> '85GL
>
> On 6/29/07, craig cowan <phishman068@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have installed a new muffler and tailpipe with new gaskets, but to
>> no avail, as i still have a gaping leak at the #1 cylinder head. The
>> gasket flaked off partially and has started it seems (as indicated by
>> my mechanics) to erode the engine head. They feel that in order to
>> replace said gasket, they will have to file down the head to get a
>> flat surface but are concerned and perplexed by the idea of doing so
>> without breaking any of the exaust manifolds. They believe that the
>> pipes will have to be split at every joint they connect at in order to
>> replace the exaust and that i'm opening up a few interesting issues
>> involving rust.
>>
>> Is there a prefered method of removing a single exaust manifold port
>> (or a single side) far enough to get a file in there and file the head
>> slightly without having to remove the head studs and without having to
>> break the entire exaust system. They told me it could be as much as 4
>> hours of work ($75/hr!!!!).
>>
>> I sudgested the idea of getting a seperate complete exaust system,
>> cutting the bolts with it out of the car and replacing them and the
>> gaskets as needed to make the mechanics job much easier. Is this a
>> good idea? If so.....whos got a spare 1.9L exaust system they wish to
>> part with?
>>
>> -Craig
>> '85GL
>>