About to remove some 5 bolt dump pipes to fix up some holes. Any particular tools/method that I should know about. I don't have a hoist either.
Remove the radiator, loosen the engine mounts, unbolt the exhaust from the dumps, remove the tail shaft,use a trolley jack to lift the engine from underneath at the front of the engine , lift the engine until it touches the fire wall. that puts the engine on an angle and effectively gives easy access, and plenty of room to get the bastards off.
The biggest obstacle is lack of room to swing a spanner. Having spares that too can cut down can really help.
No rob, the biggest obstacle is using the wrong overall size nuts, the ones that fit hard against the outside of the dumps. Those things make the job a fkn real shit fight, because you have to use a open ender,( no room to get a socket on)and its so slow. get the right size nuts in a smaller point to point diameter, then you can use a socket, and with the engine tilted back and the right tools, its still a pita, but a lot easier.
Generally speaking stainless m8 nuts will have a 13mm. OEM zinc plated steel nuts have a 12mm hex. You can get nuts in these dimensions from a bolt store but not in stainless - ARP have some options with reduced socket size but nothing in the right pitch with a hex head. I like to use stainless lock nuts knowing there’s no chance for them to come loose and that they’re not going to rust. Definitely takes patience but nothing that can’t be done and certainly doesn’t require pulling half the car apart.
Yeah you need some time on your hands and a place to do it, there's a bit work involved, but its easier, The nuts supplied with the turbos I brought were big, I only noticed there size when I screwing the dumps on with the engine out on a stand. From memory a couple hit the pipe before they were all the way down, and some were just to close, close enough to make me realize that if I ever wanted to get them off with the engine in, it would be a problem. I ended up using the same size nuts that were on the stock turbos..OEM, they dont hit anywhere.
