Downpipe Not Good

Hello mate!

I had my downpipe and sports cat fitted by 'Brakes Motor Company' in Ilminster, Somerset. They had no problems fitting them and they were very reasonably priced. Speak to a bloke in the service department called Den and say Huw sent you his way! He'll look after you!

Don't think you'll get it red hot with a blow lamp, oxy gear is the way forward. My mate loosened all mine off a few weeks back and we got them all glowing red hot first. To get a socket onto the top one which is hard to access you can use a mega long extension (or 2 or 3!) and actually work the wrench from near the left hand wheelarch.

I'd also suggest getting the latest spec bolts from a Ford dealer to go back in once you get them out, they now have a copper coloured coating on them which is supposed to help them come out easier in service. Maybe mods could pin this bit?

QUOTE(stfezzy @ 4 Dec 2009, 05:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>i cant exactly tell the garage what to do thou can i!!! its not me worth doing it meself and get a blow lamp on it and get it red hot???? huw do u have a contact number??? and any more suggestions welcome thanks guys and gals

Their number is 0146054331. Ask for either Stacey or Den in Servicing. And yeah you can give them advice, i didn't when i had my done. I just mentioned that they should be careful as a number of people on here had broken the bolts when replacing the downpipe (Ryan to mention one). I went on to mention the solutions around the probelm as suggested on this very forum. Hope this helps!

Yeah these are a bit tricky and to date we have never broken one and have enjoyed a 100% success rate, we also agree cooling is more effective than heating. We replace all the old style bolts with the new Ford copper coloured ones and all the exhaust kits we supply go out with these too.

It seems they either fall out or they cease up?

I hope it works out for you

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when they snap (if they snap) when you are removing them, am I right in guessing that its the head shears off the bolt at this point.....



in which case, its shouldn't be too bad as you can use a roller bearing stud extractor to remove the rest of the bolt as once the head has come off, the downpipe comes away allowing enough length to get on to the remaining bolt?

are they M8, standard pitch bolts?

I think I'll fit some studs (around 50mm long) and use some stainless spring washers and nuts on the top when I do mine.

The best way to release bolts like this (although not an east task working in a small area like you would be!) is to get the turbo body hot then freeze the bolt with something like plumbers use to freeze pipes! You can get a similar effect by using one of the aerosol products like Dust-Off and turning the can upside down when you spray it! Freezing the bolt will make the metal contract so its smaller than the hot thread in the turbo body which should free it off instantly! To be honest though i would leave it somebody who has all the tools and knowhow! Befoe either attempting it yourself or taking it in you could also try spraying a release agent like Plus-Gas on the bolts a few times when the engine is either cold or just warm (ie not hot as it might catch fire!)

with the bolts only being 8mm though, I have one of these, if you can get a socket on them, then you can get one of these - awesome bit of kit....



they grip with phenominal strength - never had a stud snap off with one of these

Dozy me forgetting that if a stud does snap you can still get the downpipe off to get it out of the way and give more room to grip the stud as long as it hasn't snapped off flush.

QUOTE(hugo2631 @ 4 Dec 2009, 06:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Their number is 0146054331. Ask for either Stacey or Den in Servicing. And yeah you can give them advice, i didn't when i had my done. I just mentioned that they should be careful as a number of people on here had broken the bolts when replacing the downpipe (Ryan to mention one). I went on to mention the solutions around the probelm as suggested on this very forum. Hope this helps!

Yep I had ALL three snap on my car result!! Again I pre-warned the local Ford garage about the problems with these bolts, but alas it wasn't to be on my car