> The second thing I discovered is that the connection betweeen the manifold
> and the front pipe seemed very determined to stay together, and refused any
> attempt I made to get it apart. I didn't try a pneumatic impact wrench
> (mainly because I don't have one :-) but just about everything I could think
> of short of that. Does anybody have any experience getting these apart?
You don't say whether the nuts refuse to come off, or having come off
the joint refuses to separate. The other replies seem to presume the
former.
If it's the latter (nuts off, joint won't separate) then your problem
is rust binding in the inner tube section of the downpipe that fits
up into the manifold. Fixing this involves sacrificing your gasket,
but you should always replace this anyway.
Gently pound a nail into the joint in several places all around to
deliberately damage the gasket, which is a double-walled sheet metal
spacer with an air gap inside. This will create a route for WD40 or
Liquid Wrench, which you will then squirt liberally into the joint.
Do this a lot over a period of several hours.
Then try prying them apart with a screwdriver. They should come apart.
ObDisclaimer: Don't do anything so agressive that it can damage the
flanges themselves, or I never heard of you. But they're pretty tough,
and all the damage should be taken by the gasket.
djp@alpha.sunquest.com.
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