I have some dc sports 4-1 headers and they woulda been a great fit for my 2003 cavalier. Unfortunately, nobody can seem to get the bolts off of the flang. They are rusted very bad, the mechanic today even tried to burn them off but got no where. Has anyone ever had a problem like this? Any solutions? I'd really like to have a new header on the car, but if i cant solve this problem then i guess that wont be happening. Also the mechanic said they dont recommend cutting the bolts off because i could get an exhaust leak or warping.. is this true? HELP ME PLEASE.
- 2003 CHEVY CAVALIER LS SPORT ECOTEC -
- Current Mods -
-- Vibrant Exhaust & DC Sport Header --
-- Lower Motor Mount & TTR Upper Motor Mount --
-- B&M ShiftPlus & Vibrant Front STB --
-- K&N Typhoon Short Ram Intake --
RIP DAD<3 We love & miss you so much!
so is the header mounted on your car? im confused?
The stock headers are still in the car because the bolts wont come off the flang to get them out.
- 2003 CHEVY CAVALIER LS SPORT ECOTEC -
- Current Mods -
-- Vibrant Exhaust & DC Sport Header --
-- Lower Motor Mount & TTR Upper Motor Mount --
-- B&M ShiftPlus & Vibrant Front STB --
-- K&N Typhoon Short Ram Intake --
RIP DAD<3 We love & miss you so much!
I will start with the simple question. Did you use something like liquid wrench or some other penetrating oil? How about an impact wrench?
PSN ID: Phatchance249
I had one bolt holding on my stock exhaust that when the mechanic put all he could behind his wrench it sheared of the stud. I would say to find another mechanic that can put some liquid wrench on the nut and then put some torque to the nut and if a few of the studs break or all of them break you will have a big bill to fix them all.
Actually it sounds like an expensive proposition. You will have to have the broken studs drilled into & then use a stud remover (at Sears and they are cheap) to work on the drilled out studs. In fact you may have to totally drill them out and use a helicoil to fix that.
I don't know if there is any need for helicoils but they can be used as a last resort. With a helicoil you have to drill out the stud totally with a larger drill bit and then tread in a special larger thread. You might check with a dealership to see if they can do this for you. You can still use the stock studs after you install the helicoil.
If only you could do some of this work yourself it would save you some money. If you don't think you can do this kind of work then you are at the mercy of the mechanics.
Call the dealership first before you do anything to find out if they can help you out with a helicoil
for the treads for the studs that are messed up. I had a dealership fix one stud on my car and it was over a hundred bucks whitch really sucks.
It all sounds like a bunch of money but if you must have the header installed but those
are some of the options you can try. These ideas that are not cheap to have done at a dealership.
There are some people that if they want something really bad will figure out a way to get this done but it may cost big bucks if your stock exhaust can not be removed without major work.
I wanted to add that most people do as you did and get the header first. If one can have someone try and get the bolts loose before you buy it then you will have an idea whether you should buy the header or if it will cost too much to have them intalled because of rust, heat
& corosion have welded them into the head.
