need exhaust replacement how to pointers

[axgrndr]

howdy all.
have a 02 t/a that i'm changing the cats out. old ones had extreme rattlin from honeycomb lettin go... plus probally plugged up. got the old ones out after a week of penatrant oil and patience. have a couple of questions and looking for recommendations. 1. had one exhaust stud at the flange come out with the nut... is there a particular torque for the stud itself?.. have the nut at 15-22lbs per manual but nothing on the stud. 2. the gaskets at the flanges are pretty much baked on. they look good but do have new ones avail. is it nessicary to change them? if so is there a easy way to get the old ones off. kinda hate to have to go thru pullin it all apart again if they leak. i know these may seem like silly questions, but first time playin w/ exhaust and don't want to do unessicary re-work. thanks

[35th_camaro_ss]

Hello, here is how I would attack this situation...as for the stud that came out with the stud, when reassembling, I would leave that nut on the stud, assemble all the nut/stud evenly around the flange loosely then snug them and then tighten to end up with the same torque...as for the gasket at the flange area, there is a chance to get lucky on resealing, however if you have new ones avail, your probably better off to replce them, its alot of work to put together and find it leaking...good luck

Al

[Trash man]

replace the seals when possible, the stud if you want you can reuse, otherwise get a bolt/nut combo that fits and tight em down. the stude is a ease of installation from the factory more or less, in the northeast, it was a running joke when a car came in, the studs were usually rotted off or bout to break

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

I replaced all of my studs/bolts with stainless. It's cheap insurance down the road in case you ever need to remove the exhaust again. Use antiseize...it will allow you to reinstall easier, plus help with removing later on.

For the new gaskets...coat with Ultra copper (high heat) RTV silicone. It will improve the sealing capability of the gaskets, and also help to hold them on while your torquing to proper specs.

Snug up the bolts equally, to avoid leaks. If you over tighten one, it may cause the seal to shift. I would replace the O2 sensors. It's much easier to do when the exhaust is down to do it. Odds are, if you've got 75,000 miles on them, their time is coming anyway. DO NOT get antiseize on the sensor...threads only, and very little.

Good luck!

[Ultra_Z]

howdy all.
have a 02 t/a that i'm changing the cats out. old ones had extreme rattlin from honeycomb lettin go... plus probally plugged up. got the old ones out after a week of penatrant oil and patience. have a couple of questions and looking for recommendations. 1. had one exhaust stud at the flange come out with the nut... is there a particular torque for the stud itself?.. have the nut at 15-22lbs per manual but nothing on the stud. 2. the gaskets at the flanges are pretty much baked on. they look good but do have new ones avail. is it nessicary to change them? if so is there a easy way to get the old ones off. kinda hate to have to go thru pullin it all apart again if they leak. i know these may seem like silly questions, but first time playin w/ exhaust and don't want to do unessicary re-work. thanks

BEST THING TO DO is drill broken stud from the flange then use grade 8 nut and bolt. I ran into this problem on my t/a putting an ory... every stud snapped off so i used a die grinder to cut off the rest of the stud then drilled it out with a 3/8 drill bit... then used grade 8 hardware! I had to take my stock exhaust manifold off though...