My exhaust manifold attempt...

[PathFound]

I went to a Nissan dealership and bought 12 new studs/nuts/washers and 2 exhaust manifold gaskets for my '91 Pathfinder.

 

Got home, soaked the existing right side exhaust manifold nuts in penetrating oil and proceeded to remove them. I removed 5 nuts, then noticed the 6th nut didn't exist. One of the five nuts I removed came out with the stud attached and sheared in the middle. Damn!

 

I then found the 6th nut/stud jammed between the frame and a hose. It was sheared, but well rusted and must have come out a long time ago. So at first I thought the end of the stud on this one was stuck in the cylinder head. Just great.

 

With 2 sheared studs I figured my cylinder head was doomed. I pulled back the manifold and (thank the car gods!) the old stud was not stuck in the cylinder head and the recent one I broke had a section sticking out. I grabbed it with some vice grips and unscrewed it. Lucky for me neither of these studs were left in the cylinder head.

 

I couldn't remove the manifold from the exhaust Y-pipe because of lack of tools, seized bolts, and a tight of working space. The larger problem, however, is that a piece of the old exhaust manifold gasket broke off. I had to bolt the exhaust manifold back on with only 4 bolts and a torn gasket. As a result, my Pathfinder sounds like an old logging truck. It's basically undrivable.

 

I didn't bother touching the left side exhaust manifold, but I suspect it leaks.

 

I'm going to bring it to a mechanic to fix the exhaust manifolds and a bunch of other stuff. My suggestion to anyone is don't touch the exhaust manifolds unless you know what your doing and have the necessary tools.

 

My question is: Will having an obvious leak (ie. missing gasket fragment and short 2 bolts) cause any permanent damage to the engine? I need to drive the truck atleast 2-3 km to get to a shop. It's loud like a Harley Davidson motorcyle. The right side rear cylinder is pretty much dumping it's exhaust in the engine bay.

 

Thanks.

[Casey.T]

For one short trip I would say that you are ok... You do run the risk of warping the Stock Manifold... With the existing broken stud, it may have already warped..

 

When I pulled the Passenger side on my 95 it had about 3/4" warpage.....

 

Others may have dofferent opinions but I would say do what you have to to get it to the shop if your not going to do it yourself.....

 

Anytime you run your rig with a problem you always have the potental of making it worse... Throw some Thorleys on it

[88pathoffroad]

Why didn't you buy new gaskets before you took 'em off? It's a gimmie that you should replace them when you take off the manifolds. Sounds like you had a pretty easy time of it, actually.

[PathFound]

88pathoffroad: I did buy new gaskets. I couldn't put the new ones on because I couldn't fully remove the manifolds. I'm going to bring it to a mechanic where they could put the new gaskets on.

 

Exhaust manifold warpage is what I'm worried about. The right side manifold has been missing a stud for what seems like a while. If that's enough to warp the manifold, should I get new ones?

[RedPath88]

Yes it is enough to warp them, but no you should not get new manifold until you find out for sure if they are warped or not... or cracked.

 

If one or both do end up needing replaced, then it is a perfect time to consider headers

[PathFound]

I brought the truck to the shop. I had just the right side manifold done. They had to drill out and tap 2 cracked studs. The cost to remove and re-seal the manifold was $192. The additional cost for drilling the studs was $200 for labor. With tax it was a little over $400. Basically it was about $100 to drill each cracked stud. Not bad considering the tools and know-how to do this is much, much more. I supplied the parts (6 bolts replacements and a manifold gasket that I bought from the dealer) for about $75. I think the dealer is charging a little too much for the studs/nuts/washers though.

 

So the whole job (parts & labor) was around $500. Now I know what to expect for the left side manifold.

 

Also, the manifold they removed was good. No warpage. No cracks. I'm surprised they didn't try to just put a new one and make more money. (I told them to put a new manifold IF the old one was bad.) Must be honest mechanics.

 

Now I know why these Pathfinders are cheap to buy! Oh well, now that the manifold is re-sealed it should be good for a long while.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys.

 

P.S. The above prices are all Canadian dollars.

[ILoveMyPatty]

That's a bummer, man. I'm glad mine was covered under warranty.

 

Where in Canada are you located?

[PathFound]

I live in Squamish, BC.

 

It's a bummer to have repairs. But I knew about the exhaust manifold problem on these Pathfinders before I bought the truck. I was expecting to repair at sometime. I thought I could do it myself. If I still had access to my dad's shop I could've done this job.

[ILoveMyPatty]

Oooh, we're not far apart. I'm an hour Northwest of Kamloops. Between Savona and Cache Creek. We should go wheelin' sometime.

Glad you got it all sorted out.

[PathFound]

ILoveMyPathy: Yeah I checked the map, Cache Creek is not too far. I've been up there a few times with my car but stuck strictly to the main highways. Are there good off-roading trails in your area? I've been wanting to head up past Lillooet lately. I don't know too much about the area though.

[ILoveMyPatty]

I haven't explored for any trails around here but I'm sure there are plenty old skid roads and whatnot around. I really want to find some trails, all I do is drive on dirt roads until I find mud and then go play in it. It's getting REALLY old. I want to WHEEL, not mud.

[lovebunny]

 

P.S. The above prices are all Canadian dollars.

oh thats not bad at all. bout $5 us right?

[ILoveMyPatty]

Heh no, like $460

[fishead]

Squamish? Dude, wish I could have helped you. I am in Maple Ridge. I was able to drill out 5 broken studs on mine. Wasn't too much work actually, but did require the help of a buddy that is a machinist

 

That was before my wife ran low on oil while I was out of country on a business trip. Anyone else find that the dipstick SUCKS to get a good reading off without dipping 10 times?

 

Got a "new" engine from a junkyard, and the studs are worse then my ones. My mechanic tried, then gave up in frustration. He sent it off to the Lordco Machine shop and is going to pass the bill onto the junkyard.

 

Want a REMOTE place to go camping that requires 4X4? Check out Adams Lake. Some buddies and I went up there in the spring and found an abandoned logging road. 6km of running over trees 6feet tall, crossing washout ditches, and chopping up blowdowns gets you to a huge landing with piles of firewood everywhere. Wasn't on the lake, so no water, but was still a blast.

 

Nearest person was far enough away that we didn't hesitate to toss a small (new) propane cylinder in the fire.

 

But that's a different story!

 

The price you paid for the manifold is about what I was quoted by a buddy that's a mechanic.