New Member - Thanks!

[95FormulaResto]

So, my plan is to soak the stud remnant with PB all week and give it another try with the vice grips this next weekend. If that doesn't work, I'll break out the torch and try heat around the stud and the vice grips. If that doesn't work, I'll try removing the exhaust manifold. Here's my question: If I start soaking the the exhaust manifold bolts with PB now, but end up not taking off the manifold, will it harm anything?

[Joe 1320]

Nope. After a week it may just come right out. Give it another spray mid week. Believe it or not, I found smaller vice grips have more holding power on studs than large vice grips.

[Mark B]

I dont know what tool you were using to get the bolts off, but if you were using a regular ratchet & socket... Go to PepBoys and buy the $80 Goodyear 24V cordless impact gun. Its cheap and it works like a dream!! My Ex bought it for me about a year ago & it is definilty one of my favorite tools. I just wish I got it sooner. A couple months before I got it, I snapped the head off of (2) of the tranny crossmember bolts. What a pain. But now im not even worried when I see a rusted bolt.

[95FormulaResto]

Thanks for the advice. Makes sense. I take it the short, quick, low torque impacts do a better job of breaking the rust bond on the threads than the slow, steady force of a ratchet that breaks the rust bond on face of the nut or bolt, but not the threads. I have air tools (impact driver, ratchet, etc.) I just don't use them because of the noise and because I'm afraid I'm going to snap something by using them. Seems I was wrong.

[FroSSty]

Welcome!

It sounds like you have quite the project on your hands. Kudos for breathing new life into her. As far as the stud on the manifold, pb is great stuff but sometimes it just isnt enough. If that doesn't work, heat is your best friend. I have had to use heat on most of those exhaust studs that have broken off...

[95FormulaResto]

So...PB didn't work on the stud...Heat didn't work on the stud...So I'm in the process of removing the driver's side exhaust manifold. All of the bolts came out easy as can be. Just discovered that I need to "drop the steering" to get this out from the top. How do I do that? Do I just unscrew the bolts at the top and bottom of that shaft with all the u-joints and wiggle and pull 'til it comes out?

[Dave M]

Welcome to the board! There shouldn't be any question these guys here can't answer.

[Joe 1320]

So...PB didn't work on the stud...Heat didn't work on the stud...So I'm in the process of removing the driver's side exhaust manifold. All of the bolts came out easy as can be. Just discovered that I need to "drop the steering" to get this out from the top. How do I do that? Do I just unscrew the bolts at the top and bottom of that shaft with all the u-joints and wiggle and pull 'til it comes out?

Remove the top bolt on the steering coupler, remove (don't just loosen) the bottom bolt on the pinch coupler. The lower end slides upward off the steering rack, then the top portion of the shaft will diconnect from the rest of the column. make sure you lock the steering column in place before removing the shaft, you don't want to mess up the airbag controls.

[95FormulaResto]

Thanks for the info on the steering shaft. I got it off once I fully removed the bottom screw. I removed the exhaust manifold and tried heating again to remove the stud...no luck. I'm just slowly griding away the remainder of the stud with the vice grips. I'm going to take the manifold into work and see if we can drill out the stud (or I'm just going to buy a new one for around $80 maybe more at the dealership). Other than that I got the water pump and Opti off. I removed the water pump shaft seal, but I'm having trouble removing the Opti seal...I'm afraid of damaging the timing cover if I pry too hard.

[Shockwav86]

I really wish I had the time and resources to do this type of work, I do enjoy it but I go away to school in CT and live on campus. When im home I work 50-60 hours a week and have no time. Also my car is my only car so I can't just "take my time". I had an 85 cutlass supreme and i did shocks on it in my driveway once but the passenger rear bottom bolt i didnt really tighten down as tight as possible and it ended up making an ellipse out of the mounting hole in the frame (nightmare) and it just discouraged me from doing that type of stuff to my newer much more valuable car. But I'm glad to hear stories from you do-it-yourselfers and it makes me jealous...good luck

[95FormulaResto]

So, I was in the middle of removing parts to do the opti, seals, and new wires. I broke a stud off of the driver's side exhaust manifold flange when removing the y-pipe. I tried every method (Pb, vice grips, torch) to remove the stud with the manifold still in the car with no luck. I removed the exhaust manifold from the engine with no problem and tried all of the above again with no luck. I ordered a replacement manifold and gasket set (~$85) over the phone from www.autopartswarehouse.com, being careful to specify to the guy at least 5 times that I wanted the driver's side manifold. Of course, they sent the passenger side manifold and no gaskets. The quality of the manifold was totally substandard with the casting constricting to about 3/4 of what it should be at the flange. This irritated me to the point where I went out and used more aggressive tactics on the old manifold. I cut the studs flush on both sides of the flange and used my cutting torch to blow a hole through the middle of the stud. I then drilled and chiseled 'til the stud turned and I was able remove it. Much to my surprise, the threads in the flange were still 100% in tact!

From there, it was trial and error:

- Removed the balancer/pulley (needed the 3 jaw puller ($30), it didn’t just wiggle off)
- Removed the crank snout (wheel puller ($20) required as expected)
- Removed the water pump seal (small screwdriver and hammer in the slot provided)
- Removed the old oil covered opti
- Tried unsuccessfully to remove the opti and crank seal with various common tools
- Purchased a seal puller ($11) and removed them both in less than 5 minutes
- Installed the new water pump seal (used the plastic bottle trick to protect the seal)
- Installed the opti and crank seal (using PVC end-caps ($3) and hammer)
- Installed the new opt (it took more wiggling and pressing than I expected to seat the o-rings)
- Removed driver’s side plug wires
- Removed passenger’s side plug wires (I cut them out to simplify the process)
- Finished changing the spark plugs on the passengers side (with the driver’s side y-pipe removed, I could easily access plugs 4,6, and 8 from under the car. The most difficult plug for me was #2)
- Pondered for about an hour on how I was going to get my new 8.5mm MSD’s to fit in the factory looms
- Tried forcing the MSD’s into the looms for about an hour with no luck
- Tried cutting and modifying the looms for about an hour with no luck
- Pulled out the container of tie-wraps and did my best at securing the new wires (this included securing the wires that are routed behind the power steering pump)
- Put the crank snout back on (I used a threaded rod purchased from Orchard Supply Hardware, cut to 8”. I ground flat spots on one end to assists with removal of the rod when done.
- Reassembled the rest of the stuff including water pump, manifold, y-pipe, etc.
- Started the engine

The engine started right up and ran great with no oil leaks. The misses seemed to be gone. Took it for a test drive and it ran strong. Got back home and jacked the car up to admire my routing of the spark plug wires and saw that the power steering pulling was cutting nicely into my new $100 MSD’s. Ok, so I knew my routing and securing was a risk. I don’t know how anyone could route the larger diameter MSD’s through the factory looms and guides unless the engine was out of the car and you did some major modifications (ie. grinding). I ended up ordering some Taylor 8mm do-it-yourself wires, loom tubing, and fire-sleeve and routed the passenger side wires straight up from the opti, over the valve covers and exhaust manifold. While not pretty, it works, and if I have a wire failure in the future, at least I can get to them for a fix.

So the car runs great now and all of my oil leaks are gone. All of this took 3 weekends to complete due to all of the parts, tools, and re-ordering. Hopefully it will last awhile.

As a side note, while was at the dealership getting parts one day, I looked under the hood of a GTO they had on display. I was amazed at how accessible everything on the engine was. I could easily have touched each spark plug and wire and each exhaust manifold bolt. The belt tensioner was at the top of the engine and other accessories seemed logically placed. If/when GM/Pontiac come out with next generation Camaro/Firebird, I hope they take a lesson.

[95FormulaResto]

On a separate note, I'm wondering if I have a transmission problem or a transmission that performs really well. I'm the original owner of this car and it's hard for me to remember how it performed/acted when new. Since my transmission service about 500 miles ago and since I eliminated the engine misses, the first to second shift on my 4l60e seem a little abrupt (more like I'd expect with a shift kit). Even if this is a problem, I'm not sure I'd want to fix it. The WOT shift from 1st to 2nd produces rear-end-loosening tire spin like never before on this stock '95 Formula. I realize this abrupt shifting coupled with my childish driving will shorten the life of the transmission, but should I care?

[Dave M]

Sounds like you got to be intimately familiar with your formula, and you got an excuse to buy some new tools, which is always good. Now dive in there and put a shift kit in!