kiwininja

So over the last few months I have tore down the engine in my wife's Pathfinder to fix the broken exhaust manifold studs. While I was taking everything apart I had a small problem with the studs that connect the flange of the passenger side exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe. The nuts were rusted on so bad that the whole stud came out when I tried to loosen them. Now that I've got the engine back together I can't get the stupid exhaust pipe connected to the manifold. The old studs are really rusty and I thought it might be a good idea to replace them with some new bolts. The problem is, no matter how hard I try I can't get the flange on the exhaust pipe to line up properly with the manifold to get all the bolts in. I've managed to get one in, and I've been wrestling with the other two for hours with no luck what so ever. Is there something I'm missing here? Please don't tell me I need to remove the manifold again and put new studs in. I just got the stupid thing back together.

So, I've pulled the heads off my engine so I could remove the broken exhaust studs. Now I need to reassemble everything. I've ordered a gasket kit from Parts Dinosaur and I called the dealership about the head bolts. They quoted me $140 for a set and they would have to order them. Why on earth are these so expensive? Does anyone have a cheaper source for getting these things? I don't want to have to reuse the old bolts, but there is no way I'm paying that much for a set of head bolts. Does anyone know if ARP makes studs for these motors? I've been searching, but I haven't found a clear answer so far.

I would just drive out there and test fit them on the Pathfinder, but unfortunately it's sitting in the garage right now with the intake manifold off right now. I'm the process of pulling the heads so I can drill out the busted exhaust manifold studs. What is the allowable range for backspacing for a Pathfinder? It looks like most people go with 4" when they buy aftermarket wheels, but I thought the stock ones were a little bit less. I'll probably just measure the hub hole on one of my current rims and head out the guy's place and measure the chevy ones. If they're close enough I'll just pick them up, he only wants $50 for the set of 5 anyway.

Does anyone know if a set of 15" 6 lug steel wheels from a late 80's Chevy truck will fit a Pathfinder? There's a set in the local paper for really cheap and I'm looking for a cheap set of wheels to mount some 31s on. I looked up the bolt pattern and they should be 6x5.5 from what I can tell, but I can't find any specs on the backspacing. I tried searching, but didn't find anything on this yet. I'd like to find out if they'll fit before I drive all the way out to this guy's place.