Between the MIG welder, oxy-acetylene torch, a compact right angle drill and
a good carbide drill bit set I have yet had to drop and engine or remove the
heads to replace the exhaust studs/bolts. However it can be a real
challenge. Heli-coils are my friend when the get real bad. I have seen some
heads with the exhaust flanges burned or corroded where sealant was
necessary to keep things quite. Deacon 4011 or 50-L to the rescue. While I
do like to use Stainless A4 fasteners they also can be a challenge. They can
corrode under the head and weld nicely to the pipe flange. Then the head
will break off with little warning. Stainless can be much more difficult to
drill out.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Alistair Bell
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 11:36 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: quick and dirty head swap

In my case also. That and a cold weather weeping head were my motivations.

The exhaust studs/bolts are really rotten on my engine, I serious doubt I
could get new pipes on with engine in car with less effort than it is going
to take by dropping engine and swapping heads.

I am really excited about having a leak free exh system. I'll post pics
showing the old pipes and the cobbled repairs I did to them to get me to
this point.

cheers

alistair

On 2013-05-22, at 8:29 AM, Stuart MacMillan wrote:

> In my case that would be a new exhaust system!
>
> Stuart
> Tired '85 Westy, hoping for one more year too.
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Thank you so much Alistair!  You say 'quick and dirty' - but that
> looks pretty clean to me.
>
> I am still looking with fear at my van and have not yet had the guts
> to pull the heads off.  I'm going to order a gasket set sometime soon.
> Aside from JB weld, the gasket set (
> http://www.busdepot.com/025198009b ) - is there anything else good to have
on hand?
>
> Tom