How Hard to Pull Exhaust Manifold

[nirvana19]

Sorry to ask but looking for a quick question, anyone have an idea of how difficult it is to pull the manifold on a 535 as my gaskets are either completely blown or the manifold itself is cracked? Do I need to jack up the car to get to those nuts on the lower end of the manifold? They look awfully rusted and I'm guessing they'll break off, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. Just trying to figure out whether it's time to buy a second car as I won't be able to afford car down time soon

[e34.535i.sport]

Sorry to ask but looking for a quick question, anyone have an idea of how difficult it is to pull the manifold on a 535 as my gaskets are either completely blown or the manifold itself is cracked? Do I need to jack up the car to get to those nuts on the lower end of the manifold? They look awfully rusted and I'm guessing they'll break off, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. Just trying to figure out whether it's time to buy a second car as I won't be able to afford car down time soon

I've had the pleasure of removing the exhaust manifold off the captains e36 and it took some doing, but nothing's impossible . The nuts will probably bring the studs with them but you can combat that without too much trouble. You would benefit from having the car on ramps at the front I would imagine - can't quite remember if the e34 set up is the same but I'm sure you'd need to get under to remove the manifold from the exhaust itself... Those nuts holding the manifold to the exhaust pipes take some force to remove so have a breaker bar on hand. Go for it if the car's good otherwise - if nothing else it's a good challenge!

[e34.535i.sport]

Oh and in terms of time it does take a while... Reckon we took around four hours (?) I would say to change all the gaskets but that was in the cold and dark of a winter night as well as the troublesome nut/stud situation!

[anonymous1]

Oh and in terms of time it does take a while... Reckon we took around four hours (?) I would say to change all the gaskets but that was in the cold and dark of a winter night as well as the troublesome nut/stud situation!

I agree with e34, took about 4hrs... luckily there was the odd spot of rain to keep us awake, gets comfy lying under car.

The hardest nuts/studs on the E36 were at the back of the engine due to the brake booster and pipes being in the way. Recommend checking your ratchet will fit in there, along with your hand before starting. You may find you end up with slight knuckle rash before the job is done.

Was good having two people to do the job as well, lining the exhaust back up is an absolute PITA... mucho to e34 for hands on help and Whiskey for the phone advice on that one.

[Ken35i]

RHD? LHD? Probably either way you'll be under the car.

A little trick I learned for doing such a job where seized nuts are present; you'll need a nail punch (preferably with a flat tip) and a hammer. Then place the punch on the flats of the nuts and give them a couple of good whacks. Do as many flats as you can (usually only 2 or 3 anyway), abit of WD40 or somthing similar and that loosen those nuts.

[bimmerred535i]

I had to jack my car up....while you are there, you might as well replace the studs that are going into the manifold. Use a pair of vise-grips and some penetrating oil. The copper nuts that bolt the pipes on are a one time use as well, so replace them too.

[Ferret]

Last time I did an M30 motor head gasket, I seem to remember getting the manifold off wasnt that hard. You just need the dexterity of a contortionist and a good set of tools.

Dont worry about taking the manfold off the downpipes if you're only changing the gaskets, assuming all the studs come out with the bolts (and they will on such an old car) you can just lever the manifolds back slightly and slide new gaskets in. The bolts will be rusted solid to the studs, so by turning the bolts you'll be taking the studs out of the head - be warned though - make absoloutely sure you know which stud came from which hole in the manifolds. If they were all torqued down slightly differently they'll all be slightly different lengths.

[Ross]

You'll need to get underneath. The bolts aren't difficult to get to but expect them to be rusted. At least get the new copper nuts, you'll probably need a few studs also.
If you can heat the nuts at the pipe connections it'll be easier.
Can't promise no down time but with a torch and new hardware you should be good in one session.

[nirvana19]

The bottom half of the gasket for cylinder 6 was gone causing the noise. I ended up swapping the head for a rebuilt one, it's like a completely different car now. I ended up snapping off about half of the exhaust manifold nuts, even with massive amounts of penetrating oil and head those things were really, really rusted on there.

[Adnan]

Sorry to ask but looking for a quick question, anyone have an idea of how difficult it is to pull the manifold on a 535 as my gaskets are either completely blown or the manifold itself is cracked? Do I need to jack up the car to get to those nuts on the lower end of the manifold? They look awfully rusted and I'm guessing they'll break off, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. Just trying to figure out whether it's time to buy a second car as I won't be able to afford car down time soon

Hi,

I must be one of the lucky few - all the nuts came off easily and no studs broke!

Something that may help a great deal is to spray the nuts with a penetrating oil overnight. I think I used PB Blaster. I also purchased a set of studs (both head and downpipes) just in case but ended up not needing them. If you were in the US, I'd send them to you, free.

Regards,
Adnan