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OE Exhaust painting & new fasteners recreation
Hi everyone, I have a 2015 G body coupe (rebadged G) "Q60S" AWD w Auto, and it has the sport brakes. I've had for 2 years and just wanted to paint my entire exhaust system to prevent rust because I live in the NE. I'm having fun with it so far, just wanted to share it here.
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https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...59338bc599.jpg
Had this car from new and am financing after leasing for 2 years. I am a truck driver and do not drive it a lot. Right now it has almost 12k miles. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...942ee8d7f2.jpg So you can see here around the flange joints as well as the fasteners or studs rust has begun. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7be5da46d4.jpg It's typical, I know, but figured I'd make it a project to do something about it. At first I just freed all the nuts, never seized the threads and re-tightened, but was unsatisfied. Thanks to sbowden99, providing a good example of rust that can occur on a G37 in this Feb 2018 thread: https://www.myg37.com/forums/body-in...2012-g37x.html Link directly to the photos: https://imgur.com/a/pmxf4 I will try to do some things to prevent against this if possible. |
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ca1716ba4e.jpg
Decided to replace the studs with stainless bolts and had a tough time getting them out and did not want to use a hammer so I made this press from some old 1/2" leaf spring. This worked without heat. |
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The y pipe came out first. I separated the heat shield with some clamp pieces that held it on , took off the little dampeners also. There is a white insulation material in places that I guess would allow moisture to build and there was a good deal of rust occurring there. Big flakes of rust at those areas. After chipping and sanding, I moved on to muriatic acid soaking and scrubbing. This removed all the rust completely, then neutralized it with some ammonia/ baking soda/ simple green mix. Washed again with awesome, thoroughly rinsed, then quickly dried inside with towels and a heat gun. I used nitrile gloves throughout the process to keep it as clean as possible. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a489703001.jpg Used a brush-on KBS extreme coating in charcoal metallic (3 coats) and (1 coat) vht spray cast iron over that. No primer. Taped off the spot welded heat shield and flex joint and polished the shields later. Kept the original dampener studs, which I think are welded in. This piece was done first. |
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...62df4c0fff.jpg
Hit these the same way with muriatic. I skipped the cats, but more on that later. |
thats some dedication
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With this mid pipe, the rust was mostly only around the flanges and welds, so I gently soaked this for days while I was away, in CLR / coca cola mix. That got rid of most of the rust, but gave this a final session in muriatic also for around the steel hangars and there is a curved support rod welded between the resonators that was hard to get at by soaking. I was careful not to get acid inside anywhere. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...3d67004107.jpg The rear split path flange surfaces to the muffler were pitted kind of bad. I used a howitzer blank casing to make this sanding grinder to drive with a drill slowly to improve the surface for the gaskets, the muffler side was not as bad. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...791a951543.jpg I had some white vht primer I decided to use up on this to build some thickness quickly. This is the only piece (at this point) where I used a primer. Then used an aluminum kbs spray on the resonator area, these were kind of aluminized originally so wanted to replicate the appearance there. The rest of the pipe will get the darker grey metallic color, brush on two coats kbs charcoal metallic and final coat of vht cast iron spray. I don't know but vht makes a satin clear, and kbs a gloss clear, could go over it all with one of those, I'm leaning toward the gloss, I read that vht clear has turned yellow for some people for some reason but I don't know why. Maybe surface contamination was to blame, or trying to clear coat really smooth and shiny bare metal, that the paint can't stick to very well, or if it was not dry enough and they went to heat cure it before it was ready. |
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This is just a first coat of brush-on kbs pontiac blue metallic. I will probably give them at least 4 coats, it is a kind of pale blue-green or is it green-blue? Idk, looks cool and calming. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...dddab71340.jpg I went right over the back surface, maybe will only coat this part lightly a second time. The instructions say not to worry about brush marks because it will self level upon heat curing, so I imagine it will seal up fine. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...037524cade.jpg I got a 22mm flare nut wrench for under $20 that I used to get the upstream O2 sensors off while on the car using a cheater wrench method, and took the DS ones off the cats out of the car, but opted for a socket to help if I need it later with reinstalling. Picked up the 18mm 1.5 pitch thread cleaner and gave it a gentle run through. |
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To replace the pressed-in joint fastening studs, 1 option would have been using identical M10 ATV wheel studs and press those in, but I could not find any stainless ones in that size. So I found the holes in the flanges to be perfect for 7/16" bolts. I choose an ARP bolt because they claim a high strength rating in stainless. These are 20 tpi a fine thread about a thousanth per thread difference to a 1.25 metric pitch. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...31719eb205.jpg To get my press on the one side of the cat to remove the stud, I snipped some of the heat shield away, kind of parallel to the flange. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b18beed27d.jpg There is a problem with trying to go with 7/16 for the DS side of the cat flanges, or any bolt vs. the factory stud, really. Had to cut the stud after it was driven out to get it out. The 30mm long or even a 25 will also not fit in there to have the nut downstream like the rest. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...bbd224d9ed.jpg In turning the bolt around so the nut is in the front, still, you can't use 12 point without maybe a flare nut so I made a rounded punch and with the cat bolted down by the flange in a vise, punched a small dimple just enough to pass the 1/2" box end 12 pt wrench on the nut and still be able to remove it after tightening/ torquing. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b628f5f30e.jpg The dimple is only about half the width and size of a small M&M so I doubt it will affect very much. Most people myself included would cringe at this but there was no other way to use these lovely bolts. (Unless I tried a flare nut wrench) https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...4686d30ce1.jpg These cats are metal core and 99% of the shock of punching it was held rigid in the vise through the flange 1" away from this area. I don't beleive it cracked or weakened anything. |
Wow, quite the project. The dis-similar metals is a touch worrisome but SS and mild steel are pretty close in electric potential. Have you thought of extrude honing the headers for a bit more flow? |
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...90c7ba6700.jpg
You can see where the rust occurred on the y-pipe on this heat shield/insulator. There was also pitting at the standoff areas that contact the pipe. I will dab a bit of high temp RTV to the pipe standoff contact points when re-assembling. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...9c79d8fc1c.jpg I used a buffing wheel in a bench grinder to clean and gleam this bottom side, still have the top to do. I also filed & sanded the edges smooth so you can't cut yourself on them anymore. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e94a393c50.jpg The insulation looks like it was spray adhered to the shield, but also had 2 staples in each of the 6 pieces. There was only one staple that had not rotted away to nothing in the lower half. I obtained some 304 stainless wire the same 16 gauge (1.25mm) to try to duplicate replacing them. |
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Originally Posted by slartibartfast Have you thought of extrude honing the headers for a bit more flow? I read up on it briefly, not going that far as of now, but might be some benefit. It seems like a much more drastic improvement on a cast iron manifold that has rough casting protrusions and tight angle paths. I'm also concerned that the weld seams could be weakened in these pieces, like how much material would be removed or if there are critical areas where improvement in one way could jeopardize the strength or life of the part. Voids could be exposed so maybe ultrasound scanning the part to see how solid everything is first may be important. I'm sure there is a balance that can be sought and is something to think about. I looked inside a lot when cleaning, looking for catches and things of that nature and there are some weld blobs where the heat shield bolts thread into, but other than that, didn't seem to have a lot of rough or restrictive areas to me. |
They look amazing!
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https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e8da67bf88.jpg
Those demon bolts broke loose with a snap that I had thought may have broken them, but they just came loose, notoriously tight and difficult. I intend to paint the cats as well, but in order to clean them for this I used a non-acid rust remover. The flanges were the most rusty, so I started that standing them in a shallow amount of solution. I'm going to keep the original support bracket captive bolt because it is handy, and relocate two manifold nuts that are heftier than those were. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...652f2f5f91.jpg It takes a while but with periodic wire brushing, chipping, and changing out the solution those parts of them got nice. It gets black as it is used and looses it's affect. That round punch I made to dimple the cat is in the foreground. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...042217b3b8.jpg Taped a trash bag in an old toolbox to soak further up the sides. By pluging the O2 hole with some identical thread brass pieces lying around and an o-ring, I thought it would seal, but the liquid seeped inside anyway, oh well. I got braver and was later just submerging the open ends. I'm trusting this not to harm the core, but you can see it left residue lines at the level of liquid, but by turning frequently that was minimized. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...98db3798ee.jpg Cat-to-collector comparison of the original fasteners vs. their replacements. 2 studs and the demon bolt. There is a new Nissan stud shown, that I was going to use, it is actually some kind of turbo stud, decided on all ARP stainless. With the originals, one stud is 55m long and the other 48, I guess to ease assembly. Both of the new ones are 48mm. The flange threads are 1.5 pitch and the nuts are 1.25, all M10. The old studs used an E10 E-torx, the new, a 4mm hex key or allen. The unthreaded part of the new stud is longer, but does not protrude or interfere, even without the washer. I think I will still use the washer. |
Not sure if words can do this justice, serious undertaking, hopefully rust will be at your mercy now :)
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I forgot to mention how it was necessary for me to drain the radiator to escape coolant from the driver side area piping above the header/ manifold and then remove those pipes, there was just no way for me to work there without doing so. Maybe somewhere around a gallon came out, but the way the radiator drain plug is designed is a joy to me, compared to other cars' jumbo yet fragile & sloppy plastic half turn plugs that are hard to reach and can get chewed up by a tool too easily.
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wow, this is some impressive work, thanks for sharing
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Making the new staples. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...aa75c2e6a5.jpg This robo-grip is rarely used, but is perfect width for this, I just flatten the sides with another pliers. They are longer and can shorten them later. |
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8c0032abdc.jpg
Cleaning these gaskets with awesome, maybe some of that rust soak for the other side. They have some rust from the header. |
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...5270c017d7.jpg
Upgraded the trash bag toolbox soaking, splurged on more solution... https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...eaf81951cd.jpg ...and got some 24" planters. These are fiskars made in usa, wouldn't ya know? https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2345e13de0.jpg There's 6-1/2 gallons divided half in each one, and stuck some vessels in to raise the level. |
Does that solution indicate the active ingredients? Or was an MSDS provided? I'd be worried about the catalyst. |
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Here is the MSDS link: www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/sds/specialist/wd-40-specialist-rust-remover-soak-us-ghs.pdf It just says it has water and non hazardous ingredients so the active ingredient is unclear. I was worried, then I saw a few you tubers using vinegar and citric acid in cats. It could be phosphate, acetate or citrate, I tasted a dab, no real taste or smell. I assume it is not going to attack the precious metals of the core, they may be impervious to a lot of chemicals, but still am gambling because I don't know for sure. I just choose this vs. other known acids. The WD-40 video just shows a guy picking up tools right out of the solution with his bare hands. It's probably one of those proprietary things, and was produced to be under the legal necessity to not have to disclose what's in it. The only clue in the entire document is this block at the top of page 3: Conditions to Avoid: Avoid freezing and extreme temperatures. Incompatible Materials: Strong acids. Hazardous Decomposition Products: Thermal decomposition will release oxides of carbon, and oxides of phosphorous Here is CLR & CLR PRO's MSDS link: clrbrands.com/Jelmar/media/sds/CLR-SDS-6408176.pdf CLR lists on the label that is contains Lactic Acid & Lauramine Oxide. They list as OSHA hazards. An older MSDS also had Gluconic Acid, also an OSHA hazard. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...764496aefb.jpg I soaked these zinc plated nuts for days (in the wd40 product) and it does not strip that, and zinc is a long way down the food chain from platinum and paladium. |
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Took off the muffler. Rust is mostly on the flanges. I see paint around the oval end welds, I think they did that at the factory. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ddd6ec5d30.jpg Chipping off some weld spatter. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1841ba632c.jpg There is a bunch behind the tips. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...fe3cb23602.jpg I had some water in it so made a drain hole, threaded it if I want to seal it I can use some RTV later. |
I am using high temp paints, but if I was starting all over, I think I would have gotten kbs zinc high temp primer, at least to hit the flanges, that may have proved beneficial to prevent rust better, but I was so adamant about totally removing the rust so well that I just felt satisfied at the time with just the paint, so I will have to see. They claim only 1200 degree for the primer and 1500 for the paint, this led me to say why not just use the paint alone, but how hot will things really get. 6-700 at wot doing doing 0-100 mph pulling? IDK.
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Besides all that, the parts most vulnerable to rust are already pitted and after cleaning they have the best surface for adhesion, so that will help the paint stick to those areas maybe better than anywhere else, but I guess the zinc being down first would be good for abrasion from gravel that could scratch through the paint and stop the spread of possible bubbling rust under the paint.
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Got new ring gaskets for collector-to-cat, 5 pack for $10 deal on ebay right now. The guy threw in an extra one, now I have 6.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ca7b57a637.jpg It turns out the single one on top in this picture (19U00) is slightly oversized for my particular cats. The other 5 end in 19U0A and are correct and what I ordered. |
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Sanded this all over, and smoothed out the weld stop and start globs, then mounted it to polish the back of the tips easily. Don't know when I will paint this because it has been raining all week. It dries slow when the barometer is down. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c18d3008d2.jpg Chiseling the weld spatter was difficult on the tips because it is much thinner than the rest of the metal, so it helped to use a carbide burr to cut away the tiny peices. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...9be9bf2c69.jpg This area gets struck by road grit a lot but I shined it up the best I could. I'm getting some of the zinc primer and stainless steel paint for the muffler. It gets wet the most and is the coolest part of the system and thought it was worth more protection. |
The muffler is almost ready to paint, but I'm soaking the flanges still.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a344823038.jpg You can see the bubbling as the rust is dissolved. This was in a 50/50 mix of CLR & Coca Cola, cheaper than the wd-40 product and almost equally as effective, maybe not quite as safe, but still safe enough for indoors. I only would use Muriatic outdoors and more than 10 ft or downwind from anything you don't want to rust because it's vapors can affect nearby things and cause them to rust without realizing it until days later. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...d45985058c.jpg Shined these up a little bit. The cats are still soaking, but earlier I double rinsed them and filtered the solution and put them back in. There was some sediment, but nothing unusual though, just rust and carbon looking specks and dirt. I have to work at this around my job the next few days so there may be certain lulls in the progress updates. |
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The 2nd coat on the headers had air dried for a week and now gave them some heat @ 250 for 20 min, let cool slowly in the closed oven, then 350 for 20 min., and slowly cooled again. Will do 1 or 2 more coats on them after this, and and also thinking about about a gloss clear coat but not sure. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b3bd1db25e.jpg This is a material called Pyrogel XT-E in a 5mm thickness that I will try to replace the original y-pipe insulation with. There is 3 sq. ft. piece here. It is very lightweight, rated to 1200 degrees, and is said to be hydrophobic, meaning it will resist the absorbtion of water, yet still breathable. It also was said to be maroon in color, but turns out to be just a light pink. The price ran about $10 / sq. ft., found it on e-bay and shipped from RI where I believe it's made. There is a pyrogel xtf that is basically the same thing and is a nice grey color, but only comes in 10mm thickness, this xte is also available in 10mm as well. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...aad1a1bf27.jpg Plenty to make all the pieces from, there are also some very small pieces on the manifold shields. |
This project makes my OCD happy. Your dedication to the OEM exhaust is impressive. Any idea on approx. cost for all your supplies?
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Originally Posted by KidJai06
(Post 4210391)
This project makes my OCD happy. Your dedication to the OEM exhaust is impressive. Any idea on approx. cost for all your supplies?
If for some reason the cats are ruined by my soaking and or somehow painting messes up their functioning, I will have to get new ones, which will cost over $1500, but I don't expect them to be needing to be replaced, but who knows. If I do get new cats, I will definitely get a 12 pt flare nut wrench and try it to avoid dimpling the nut area again. |
I worked on the y-pipe shield today.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b203ec61a2.jpg Cut out the peices. Found that I could make them significantly larger, and cover more of the area. There is nothing gelatinous about this material. It has a dust to it and also an itch factor. Hoping it will not absorb water as much as what was in there. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b6ddee4b9f.jpg Used a spray contact cement for the y shape peice from a leftover can, then switched to dap contact cement brush on for the rest. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b43d321947.jpg Close up veiw of this material with a staple in place. I put the prongs of the staple on the inside this time. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...0d274f584d.jpg Some one thousandth thick mica tape, no adhesive. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a8397e9759.jpg To stick down with permatex after squeezing it all around and under the standoffs. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c506e9b142.jpg To provide some contact barrier against corrosion. That's all for today, need some dabs of paint on the clamp nuts that attach it around the pipe. |
Originally Posted by KidJai06
(Post 4210391)
This project makes my OCD happy.
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Thanks blnewt, I am devoting a lot of time to this between my work schedule, I appreciate you hangin' in there as it can have slow development at times.
This project has been going on for about a month now, the car is up on 2x12's stacked 6 high, raising it 9". The battery is actually still attached and is on a 800 mA trickle charger. I need to try to get it done by November, because my local routed driving job may change then. I could use vacation time to work on it, but at this point, it will likely be done by the end of Sept. I was looking at painting my steel front end support bracket, I think the RWD manuals have an aluminum piece instead for this, also perhaps next year, getting to pulling the prop shaft and or entire rear diff and axles along with brake rotor cleaning and painting, but for this winter, I got some fluid film to spray around the factory surfaces to deter rust. |
The y-pipe is assembled now.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a54fbc3975.jpg This is the most complex part of the whole system to try to restore. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...be6466aeb6.jpg The dampers were fine so just washed them and applied some silicone grease to the rubber parts. The mounting studs were painted along with the pipe, the original nuts were shot with with a vht flat silver spray. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...82089cdeba.jpg Had to place the flange bolts through in advance here to fasten the clamp together. Painted the welded nuts and the inside of the bands with kbs stainless steel brush-on. They also got new 12 pt M6 x 10mm bolts and a washer. |
Back to the muffler, had cleaned it and had it indoors to stay dry all week.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...70f1df6e8b.jpg Masked off the tips back to the pipes. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...9dda0f770b.jpg Here is a before of a flange, just to show the level of rust removal achieved. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...36f21d28cc.jpg Kbs xtreme zinc primer spray, 1 light mist coat and another general covering coat. Had to aim carefully in the hanger bracket area. Wire has been duct taped to the tips to hang it from. |
4 some color, a kbs xtreme stainless steel spray.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e09aa77075.jpg A high solids paint, lots of particles float around when spraying it. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...edd04794e8.jpg It's similar to the aluminum but a little darker and a lot more metallic-flakey. It has a 'tooth' so I may get their gloss clear in the xtreme range they also offer to seal this better. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a8419b1af5.jpg -July 2015- |
One thing I was considering is using the high temp lab metal product that is good to 1000 deg, to use as a filler on the more severely pitted flange gasket surfaces, but thought new gaskets would do. Trying to avoid permatex on the joints, but the thicker paint applied there and some of my grinding at the very worst two might have them leveled out enough for a good seal.
Also the nice M4 threaded drain hole I put in the muffler, well I had gotten paint it it so tried to re tap it but ended up stripping it out, so now there is a just a constant drain hole, not a periodic, when-I-choose-to drain hole. :doh:. |
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Waited two weeks trying to see if this white primer will dry so that I can use a brush-on over it but no go, it just dissolves underneath, muddying the color. Now I am running a heat gun to try to heat cure it. May have to just spray only over top of this. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...517fc9f990.jpg Capped off the top with big washers and also completely with a piece of metal to get it to circulate down the other side, it gets hot. |
Never thought the oem Y-pipe could look so sexy :) Make a nice centerpiece w/ roses coming out the top :biggthumpup:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a54fbc3975.jpg |
Thank you for doing this. Not only for the exhaust, but for rust control, you have given us so many ideas that I never thought to do. The Northeast is not very forgiving on rust and at least I have some better ways to fight back. |
Decided to get more serious with pre-curing this part off the car.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...943a56befa.jpg Good ol' harbor freight heat guns, picked up two more of them, and a infrared thermometer, cheap enough. You can adjust the thermometer for the emissivity of different surfaces of materials. I found the darker color reads hotter. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...56aff98cf0.jpg Snap-on makes a nice 1/4 drive 4mm allen socket, but I got a cheap 4mm hex socket and a new wrench and cut off a piece of it and super glued it into the socket just the right length to make an ideal allen socket for the studs. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8472de81a5.jpg I got the pipes all the way to the top over 400, and at times the lower foot or so (meaning the rear part of the pipe) over 700 degrees. Haha. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7bc74b2550.jpg I was able to lay down some brush-on a lot better, but there was still some dissolving of the white primer into the charcoal metallic where the heat-reach diminished. I could have left the heat on longer, and may do that before the next coat. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...3b1d562ca0.jpg I'll let it dry overnight at least and then give it some treatment, let cool, then brush on another coat, treat again and then top it off with a bit of the vht cast iron spray to smooth it out just like I did the y-pipe. It's hard to get those resonators over 250 it seems, because they themselves are insulated or just have hollow cavities. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a5fbde068e.jpg This is the coolant tube section I needed to remove over the driver side header/manifold area, it has a zinc plating, but was all ugly already from weather, so I shined that up too. The 'sharkhide' product I got while I was going over the transmission case and engine aluminum, to use after cleaning them where I can reach, to apply an anti corrosion film. It is very expensive, at $65 / qt. but is a marine aluminum protectant. It goes on like paint thinner, and then feels a little tacky, then goes off fast like super glue and is dry instantly and leaves an invisible protective film. Says it can last 'several' years, Idk, just trying that because I don't really want to paint the aluminum engine or trans metals. If it's made for the ocean, it can probably do a good job on the road was my logic. |
Originally Posted by blnewt
(Post 4210545)
Never thought the oem Y-pipe could look so sexy :) Make a nice centerpiece w/ roses coming out the top :biggthumpup:
Originally Posted by GdaddyNY
(Post 4210546)
Thank you for doing this. Not only for the exhaust, but for rust control, you have given us so many ideas that I never thought to do. The Northeast is not very forgiving on rust and at least I have some better ways to fight back. I like this system in the respect that it has no slip together joints, where one tube has to fit inside another, they are all flanges with gaskets, makes it very strong and easy to uninstall/reinstall. |
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b6f79a9774.jpg
Comparison of the original header/manifold studs and nuts (old on left, new on right) vs, the new SS ones. Four new studs not shown here were test fit at the time. They have the same thread pitch on both ends, unlike the cat-to-collector studs, that have 1.5 pitch on one side. They have the same thread length as the cat studs, but these are 55mm overall because of the little nut-starter tips and are the same overall in length as the manifold originals. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...06b50f3d89.jpg Still need to clean the gasket area but have it taped over right now. They have the same fit as the original, a close tolerance M10 x 1.25 thread, they are tight enough that you need at least a little allen wrench to turn them and actually turn easier the farther they get. Had gotten a chaser tap and tried it but it started to remove metal so I stopped and forgot that, the threads are not dirty anyway. They are supposed to be tight to resist pulling of the thread. I may use a non metal anti seize into the aluminum here and nickel on the nuts. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...5976d1dd37.jpg Checking out how they will look on the manifold. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...085b93d530.jpg I selected some 4mm thick, and 22mm diameter washers to match the original locknuts' overall flange diameter, so it spreads the load out exactly the same. The washers are also parallel ground. |
Would you be so kind as to photograph the manifold ports and a shot of the collector end-on? |
Not sure how far inside I can show.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...6a17f40e45.jpg Driver's side. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c5ae00f0bd.jpg One mod would involve welding a fillet on the outside of all of the port tube/plate joints to reinforce them and then removing some of the weld material inside the port area so that it's straight and parallel, without the weld bead hump all the way around. I could have taken it to a good welder I know to do this, then ground it down myself, probably should have, but didn't. It's painted now. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...78ffb96fea.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8f3046ee9c.jpg Perhaps I could smooth them out a little as it is without weakening the part. Idk. I have the gaskets to line them up against and make sure I am not removing more material then I should. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...fa7d6fc82d.jpg Not sure if painting the ring gasket surface will be a problem or not. There is only one coat on there, could scrape it off with brass or aluminum maybe. Added a few more after getting a better light. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ab3b78685d.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...28afbc0ddc.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1ea957e2d1.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ec9684e9f2.jpg |
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c8b4a0fdd4.jpg
Had the cats soaking for like 10 days, took them out and started washing them in a large cement mixing tub. Used some Zep pressure washer concentrate and awesome. Will triple rinse and dry with heat either in oven or with my heat guns or both. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...5317315b24.jpg The rust remover was not totally spent so am filtering and rejugging it for use again on something else. |
Thanks for the extra photos. The stock manifolds don't look all that bad. |
Kbs xtreme zinc primer on the cats.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...28863c7081.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e729b13cc2.jpg They look nice enough to just leave this way, but will give them some paint after they dry. May use that oven to cure this before continuing. A lot of people might think this is a bad or useless project and sometimes I wonder myself, but I'm enjoying it. |
"Your next project, Mr. Bailey, should you choose to accept it, is to remove and refresh the front cross member." |
Originally Posted by slartibartfast
(Post 4210879)
"Your next project, Mr. Bailey, should you choose to accept it, is to remove and refresh the front cross member." Now I am thinking about Yamaha marine engine paints, they have a blue silver, blue grey metallic, and a dark blue met., I'd like to do do this in the blue grey, the cat and mid pipe bracket in the silver blue and the drive shaft and rear diff in the dark blue met, along with cold galvanizing and zinc phosphate primers. They make a lot of good claims for underwater use and marine use for those kinds of paints and could be wise for the underparts that may as well be in the sea come winter, often times. At first I thought you meant the engine cradle. Yipes, I don't want to remove steering and AC fluid/lines or refrigerant. Hehe. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e8a0e3ac10.jpg |
I only brought it up because quit a few of the Rust Belt AWD owners ask how to get rid of the cross member rust. You'll find several threads in the Interior, Exterior, Body forum. |
Clear coated the muffler with kbs xtreme clear (gloss), used 2 whole cans.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...cbfd474b32.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e28fb74cf0.jpg I will buff out the tips a lot better later after it's dry and I can then tape off the painted part. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...cede65b0d3.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a25eeddedb.jpg The large sections of metal are a little wavy compared to some aftermarket products, spot welds are not in a straight perfect line, so it was not made to be a showpiece to begin with. |
To quote Malcolm Reynolds, "Shiny!" |
Originally Posted by Justin Bailey
(Post 4210844)
A lot of people might think this is a bad or useless project and sometimes I wonder myself, but I'm enjoying it.
Man, i'm loving these posts, don't listen to those people, the quality of your work alone speaks to the worthiness of the time spent... that paint on the muffler is better than I've seem on some body panels that are meant to be centerpieces...looking forward to the cross-member sequel too. |
Originally Posted by GdaddyNY
(Post 4210546)
Thank you for doing this. Not only for the exhaust, but for rust control, you have given us so many ideas that I never thought to do. The Northeast is not very forgiving on rust and at least I have some better ways to fight back. Am monitoring closely for anything that I could pull off. |
There comes a point where the cost and time of doing something like this are outweighed by the simplicity and practicality of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" - stands to reason
Just for suggestion, a low mileage or good condition used system or any particular part could be purchased and restored like this yourself and have a mechanic replace it, and you wouldn't have the downtime that I am having. You can get brush on high temp paints that you could do anywhere with no overspray issue, or use an airbrush. The rust removal soak has no odor and could be used anywhere indoors as well. There are companies that you could ship an item to for them to professionally sandblast and ceramic coat, but would be too costly for many people including myself and for many reasons. Since I got this vehicle brand new, I already ate that "roll off the lot" depreciation, and felt like the enjoyment of doing this will fill that void during my ownership of it, but that is sentimental, not practical. |
Here's some more of the painting progress.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c08d1e2e70.jpg This was from one coat of charcoal met. brush-on , and vht flat silver spray on the shield. Oven was at 350 for 20 min to cure the primer, but after this used 375 to cure it better. Color still was 'blending' into the primer here and there. To spray the shield, I masked off the body by using some index card like paper between the places I didn't want paint to land. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a9866ddede.jpg Then a second coat, this was the driver's side. Color got darker and more metallic, first coat was cured better than the primer coat. I used a very small brush - like a 1/8" bundle of bristles, to work in the small areas and reach as far under the shield as possible. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...02262e7628.jpg The heavy clear coat was dry to the touch from a few days sitting, but went ahead pre-curing it with the heat guns. The surface softens again and gets very sticky, a bug landing on it is like fly paper but can easily be picked out and any resulting flaw flowed out with heat. It needs a few heat cycles to harden it. Did not want to start off curing it by idling the car for a few reasons, it may get scratched too easily when installing, and if the muffler doesn't reach a hot enough temp to cure it and it just stays sticky, dirt from the road will stick into it. I was not sure how hot it would really get running the car at idle or driving. I can get the body of it over 350 everywhere, with most of it exceeding that to over 400, but the hangers had to be heated by going over them with the heat gun from the outside. If I leave the heat on longer I believe it would reach over 450. I used some wood to prop it up by the back of the tips, in case the heat would cause the taped hanging wire to release under the full weight of it to prevent it from falling. The 11.2 oz. can's size fit into the pipe nicely, the labeling starts smoking and burning, but the high temp paint does not. |
In addition to the manifold & cat ring gaskets there are these 6 others.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e8bacab5ea.jpg The black one is for the water pipe, the others are basically the same, just a different part # for the y-pipe/mid rear resonator joint, it seems like the only difference is the rounded ends. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7ee2821473.jpg Using the rust remover on the heat shields for the manifolds, still going to use them. There is just some rust around the bolt standoffs. |
Gone all week, but got these shields painted today. Same vht flat silver and charcoal met. on the standoffs.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...808b00889c.jpg These are actually two layers with some insulation inside, so some of the water and rust soak solution steamed out while oven curing and there was more smell than just the paint but went ok. - did not set off smoke alarm. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...496e14f763.jpg The original header/manifold heat shield screws are M6 thread. There are fourteen 20mm and five 10mm lengths, the 20mm are flange bolts and the 10mm had captive washers. The new ones are three 5 packs of 20mm with equal diameter washers (one extra). The 10mm are actually 16mm and cut three of them off and ground the starting ends in a drill against a fine file. The upstream, bigger heat shields (top & bottom each side) get the 20mm and the downstream collector area get the short ones. The 16mm works fine for two placed in the downstream shield so just did not cut them shorter. |
Added some surrounding walls to the muffler heating proccess. It helps get it over 400 all over.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...47e2c4f2d0.jpg Kind of ghetto, but it works to intensify the heat. :flame: |
Well that got the pipes' paint really hard, but not the body, you could still dig a nail into it, so a yet even better oven was constructed.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b3a4dd79c3.jpg This was with the "door" open for half a minute. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e2b1292544.jpg Used two roller stands, a trac vac door, some small sheets of metal and drywall and foil. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c8fb96de2a.jpg Door sets onto and closes it up, the air escapes through some small gaps. The ambient temps inside this setup are looking more like 550-600, which is really needed to get the coating hard enough to wet sand, which I may do and follow with another moderate coat of clear, but may just buff it with a compound to see if it can be made shinier- the full heat curing kind of made it semi gloss. In hindsight, the majority of the "engine enamels" out there that are good to at least 500 and cure for the most part on their own would be a good choice for something this far downstream like this muffler and would be a lot easier to mess with. I had not really realized this but wonder if this high temp paint/coating is better for salt/chemical resistance if it can be cured properly. I can't say for certain, but I hope so. |
Three brush coats and also a spray layer to try and hide the brush marks a bit. Now I am able to blast them in here also, it gets hotter than a kitchen oven. Had sprayed a little too thick in spots and it skinned and blistered, so wet sanded that and resprayed. Waiting for more clear coat in the mail.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...078da43138.jpg You can see in the bottom the three heat guns protrude through. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...cda5045fb5.jpg 3 coats on the pipe sections here. Color is full. Now am contemplating lengthening the oven to heat this also. Should not be a problem or can just run hot air through it, but the resonators won't get hot enough that way. Had not thought to pre heat the y-pipe, but may detatch the heat shield and blast it also, that will not be possible to oven, so will just heat through it. When heating the paint softens and don't want it to get mushed under the isulation. 400 grit wet sanded the muffler with simple green and just rinsed, too many bugs and specks got into it with my 1st poorer oven attempt. Will lightly mist some SS color to hide some defects and top it with more clear, then I can cure it enclosed from dirt and bugs, so it should turn out better. I definitely have a reliable way to harden the paint most effectively now, and it doesn't take forever, so for that I'm happy right now. |
Do you have an estimate on how many man hours you’re putting into this? Between removal and install of parts, then this amazing treatment of those parts? You definitely have it down to a science. |
Originally Posted by GdaddyNY
(Post 4213040)
Do you have an estimate on how many man hours you’re putting into this? Between removal and install of parts, then this amazing treatment of those parts? You definitely have it down to a science.
|
Coat of clear to these headers and baked.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...d7388118e1.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...dc4e6464e2.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8839fdaf52.jpg Muffler is totally done now, had used some compound and polish after 1500 and 2000 grit wet sanding. Oven extended for the mid/ rear pipe. 3...:mad: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...bca9c9b870.jpg 2...:icon25: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...96682ba1b2.jpg 1...:icon20: https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b823222594.jpg GO!!!! :D |
As I was kind of saying earlier, many engine enamels could be used for all but the headers and cats. VHT has sprays that are 650 rated that would be fine for the y-pipe and maybe just using a 500 degree engine enamel for this and the muffler would probably work as well. That would eliminate heat curing all these big pieces like this. The small headers and cats can fit both l+r in a kitchen oven if you don't mind some minor offgassing odor, that's if anyone wants to go through with something similar to this project.
If yours is badly rusted, it'd be wiser to just replace the parts when needed for inspection or noticed leak or failure. Again, this system only has 12k on it so lots of good metal to put this kind of effort into. |
I'm revisiting the y-pipe with shield removed to heat cycle it also. Will need to either forget about or add another layer of the mica tape on the standoffs because much of the contact point while just sitting tightened around there cold kind of attatched itself to the paint and had to scrape it off of the pipe for curing.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...38b1389b9e.jpg Got some kbs charcoal met spray. It is a richer color than the cast iron vht and want to clear coat it also. After seeing another thread where this was the failing part due to rust I feel it is worth more coating/layers. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...411acb7a72.jpg This was the 1st part I cleaned using the muriatic acid and had just used baking soda at the time and no ammonia to neutralize, and had not heated it yet so this flex area has tiny rust bubbles. Will douse it with ammonia and use a new phosphoric acid etch product I just got (kbs rust blast) along with soapy water wet sanding the pipe for further coating. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2195cda2df.jpg Here is a side-by-side comparison of vht cast iron and kbs charcoal metallic colors. The y-pipe is the cast iron. It is kind of plain compared to the charcoal which has metallic and a bit of sheen to it. |
The baking soda by itself will neutralize the hydrochloric acid. Don't see why you're following with ammonia. |
I agree and thought so too, but I think ammonia is a little more volatile and may penetrate the flex joint cup there better. Might be just because it was not totally dry in that cup that it was bubbleing rust out of, it is a tight spot and I really had to scrape and soak the muriatic in there a while to get the old rust cleaned away from there. The kbs rust blast is the phosphoric acid prep I want to get in there also.
|
Had an old peice of aluminum flex duct I enclosed around it to get it hotter.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...befcc5fc52.jpg |
So after curing what was there already, I cleaned more of the flex joint area better with some naval jelly then used up the rest of the vht cast iron, followed by a few coats of kbs charcoal met. and clear.
Two lighting angles: https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...94680c09ff.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...241b3eb7ca.jpg After curing this , I'm thinking about either running a small bead of high temp rtv (700 degree) tight around where the lip and braid meet or spreading anti seize around the same way and heating it up and let it melt into the joint to stop rust from road chemicals soaking/spaying in there, (and clean up any excess so you can't really see any of it) might be good. :IDEA: https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...0bf86c79f4.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...568c4dd439.jpg I introduce the heat sparingly at first to try to prevent the paint from bubbling on and off on low setting, especially when doing thick coats. I don't want to melt the wire I am using to hang it from that runs inside right here. I like this color better, it has more depth than the cast iron, and is richer looking. :icon39: |
All the high temp painting/ coating is done, just need to heat cure it sometime this week or next weekend.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...3c59d300a3.jpg The vht flat silver on the heat shields was ok, but had some SS spray left so applied some over it and then a few coats of clear over everything. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...70bb901e8c.jpg Did the same for these header/manifold shields, except only on the outside surfaces, that you might actually see when on the vehicle. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a2b251d912.jpg The little collector area shields had some small insulation pieces I replaced with the pyrogel material also, the originals were adhered with a brittle white ceramic like hard cement, but I used high temp rtv instead, could have used rutland stove gasket cement and that would have been equivalent, but is a black color. I don't think the rtv will burn or fail here + when you fasten the two halves together it kind of clamps down on the insulation, so it would even stay put with nothing else if you could assemble them in the right place that way. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...6553b4fbc5.jpg Same deal on the outsides of them as well. Now all the shields match the muffler. |
So I have to paint the cross member piece and the small bracket that is back near the resonators and while the exhaust is off the car I was going to clean and brush something around any of the black oem color rear diff, driveshaft, and any suspension rust I see, so it will still be a while to assembly of the exhaust. I thought of doing a mock up suspended from the ceiling around stomach height of the whole system bolted lightly together and get some pics that way, without any gaskets in, we'll see.
|
^I’d like to see that mock up |
Originally Posted by GdaddyNY
(Post 4214575)
^I’d like to see that mock up |
I added some better port and collector pictures to post #46
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c6d5ac55be.jpg made a small nozzle for this tube of anti seize to get in close around the flex joint https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...4726185d2f.jpg ran a bead around them https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...4681993718.jpg used heat to melt it in https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...872001fc1e.jpg wiped the excess with some alcohol and a rag, maybe that will deter rust here. |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2dadc2225c.jpg
used some very small tubing to make this long reach spray wand extension https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2a89c21920.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c695182e12.jpg sprayed some of the kbs aluminum inside the y and resonator pipe, I have some 2000 degree vht I could go inside the headers with but don't think I will in case it would flake off and get into the cats someday. |
These y pipe dampers I had thought were somehow welded together, then they split apart so I cleaned them up and painted them.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e10e2f8446.jpg |
I noticed the upstream sensors had some kind of white anti seize on them, so I researched and found the only kind that is white is ceramic non metal varieties so got some of this.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...e16e71e71e.jpg Says its good to 2400 and if you search this product there is a very impressive video showing a flame test in which this won't melt or run vs. another other metallic type. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c4e69b6466.jpg Using it on everything now. I kind of over apply it knowing I will wipe off the excess. |
Mock Up
A total system mock-up without heat shields.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...f4d44db0c0.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...cbf0dbda46.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...7ece846889.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...332c41ab42.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...a88d264b69.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...55d651411a.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ab8cabb94b.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...438b46079a.jpg The overall length is 13 ft 8 in. |
Mock Up w/ shields
with shields on manifold and y pipe
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...f6e3b0b2b2.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ec0cd1ad5f.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c2c079525a.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1181ae79a9.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ce5c5d5bdb.jpg might redo this shot with better liighting https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...4e49be7a65.jpg Well that was my summer. Still some odds'n ends to do then maybe I'll install this finally. :conf10: |
Good job on that anti-seize. You can kill an O2 sensor with copper or moly products if you get any on the ceramic portion. |
Originally Posted by slartibartfast
(Post 4215286)
Good job on that anti-seize. You can kill an O2 sensor with copper or moly products if you get any on the ceramic portion. |
Well done and thanks for the muffler-porn pictures. Very entertaining and great job on the attention to detail. Too bad it won't be seen under your car. :14:
|
I know this isn't exhaust related, but rather than posting it in some other place, here are some of the odds and ends. Lots of naval jelly scrub, rinse, and repeat cycles. Then used kbs rust seal in silver and satin black. It's a very hard urethane based coating for frames and restoration to cover and seal. It is just one part, so it dries all by itself, but really seems like tough stuff.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1078a2e702.jpg Did not paint the cover, just cleaned and smoothed some rough areas. weighed the final drive - it's 86 lbs https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ab0a0684d3.jpg Doing this while the exhaust is off and temps are pleasant, doing the axles too. I got some Dow molykote m77 in a 2 oz amount for the hub to axle joint. Z1 sells the center bearing replacement, but it is not listed on the infiniti parts sites, tried separating with a brass punch, but did not budge at all so just left it together. I center punched very tiny matching marks on every joint and since there was no problem prior, will just reinstall the same way. I read you can turn the hub splines 180 degrees, but don't know if that is only when there is a clicking issue or if it is routine every time you would remove and install them. |
Edited the picture about this bracket and having been painted with mopar paint. It has not adhered or is not very tough, could scratch it off with fingernail. Idk if it is because it was galvanized or what.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...292a843ee5.jpg Will have to try something else for this, like the rust seal urethane, or I also ordered a primer grey high temp 650 degree 2 part urethane aerosol from eastwood, so I will strip it probably can just scrape it off with a piece of wood, then redo it. |
man all those parts look amazing. I'd love to see a pic of the underside of your car on a lift after its all assembled
|
Taking some considerable time off work to get this all to completion. Here I have the axles, de-rusted them and used a mix of silver and black rust seals. The shafts are just a satin black.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1664810e78.jpg Was going to just use silver like the diff flanges, but thought some contrast is good. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...dde4089896.jpg The surface was rusted pretty good but took my time with naval jelly again. This is a 1st coat very thinly. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...fdad16c156.jpg I used a brass brush on the spline area and it left some on the steel so I just left it there maybe it will deter rust, lightly smear brushed the thread area just enough to seal it. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...aedbe915af.jpg I read in the manual to get this Molykote 77 so got some for the flat side next to the spline(s). |
These are called 'stays'. They support the rear suspension member. They take a lot of abuse and were rusting. I found a 2 part plastic resin kit and filled them in solid adding only about 1/2 lbs to each one but they are solid now. Painted them a rust seal galvanized color, a flat silver.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...3b965b0231.jpg They have threaded holes that do nothing but rust there, so got 6 screws to close them off, and some ARP M10 x 1.25 x 65mm SS flange bolts that won't rust for their attachment. The large member nuts go over the other ends. |
Tried to polish this aluminum heat shield, but it's already too pitted or corroded to be perfect, so got some 2k engine primer and a white gold color and clear that I'll treat all 5 pieces with.
All three are two part, you pop the catalyst inside the spray can and then you have like 48 hrs to use them. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8df7c8a149.jpg I'll take this a step backward roughening it with scotchbrite pad and some prep etch. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1b9d0dde5c.jpg They shoot a sample into the cap, not totally mixed, but gives an idea of the color. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...2742a36be5.jpg I drilled out the rivets, removing the tabs/brackets which I'll paint separately, to paint it thoroughly. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1b32bc9acd.jpg Replacement rivets. There are two shields above the cats against the underbody, and one above the muffler not shown. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...9c331eee9e.jpg This one is steel and had done weeks ago with high temp heat cure paint in stainless steel. I don't really think these shields need any extreme heat resistant paint much over 250 degrees so the 2k paints should be fine. The primer is engine rated to 650 though. |
Just when I thought I couldn't be more impressed... looks amazing, if you ever sell your car it will be a very lucky person who buys it.
make sure you coat the splines and the flange face of the axles on reassembly really well with that molly grease , there was TSB from years ago because they would start clicking and the dealers had to add more moly grease to quiet them down... regarding clocking the driveshaft, you only need to do that if there is any vibration when you reassemble, there shouldn't be though if you reassemble at the original orientation |
Originally Posted by Hashim
(Post 4219742)
Just when I thought I couldn't be more impressed... looks amazing, if you ever sell your car it will be a very lucky person who buys it.
make sure you coat the splines and the flange face of the axles on reassembly really well with that molly grease , there was TSB from years ago because they would start clicking and the dealers had to add more moly grease to quiet them down... regarding clocking the driveshaft, you only need to do that if there is any vibration when you reassemble, there shouldn't be though if you reassemble at the original orientation Thanks for the advice, I wasn't sure about using it on the spline, I do have fluid film, I can use on some things. I have the 'S' model with VLSD and don't know of all models if that was more or less contributive of the problem. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...fa8333493f.jpg I wasn't sure if the oem cotter pins were stainless, so got some and custom cut one leg to match, the heads are larger though. They are slightly thinner diameter also but should work. These show are 5/32, but later got 3/16 which are perfect. There are belleville style spring lock washers under the big rear axle nuts, that I forgot which way they go, but found there is a ring of blue paint on one side of them that goes facing the hub, the outside rim of the washer contacts the hub, and the hub nut presses the inside of the washer on the outside or wheel side. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...6ba7460706.jpg I made tiny matching marks with a center punch on each side of all drivetrain joints to reassemble it just like it was. I know you're supposed to use paint to mark, but since I was painting the parts, I choose to physically mark them. Ialso found a threadlock called Vibra Tite VC3, that you coat and let dry, it is red like the original stuff on the various drivetrain bolts, is high strength, but does not harden and can be disassembled without heat. Good for vibration. |
Before this got too rusty, thought I'd pull it, clean it, and silicone grease the rubber to prevent dry rot, polish it up, then never seize and replace, it was a tough job, tried at first with a 1/2" rod but that wasn't strong enough, had to enlarge the hole about a half mm in diameter to fit a 5/8 rod through. I can wrap some stainless steel foil tape around the diff stud shoulder to take up the play later, or a 1/2" copper drinking water pipe will fit perfectly if I can find some and cut a short ring. Once the nut is torqued down, it should be rigidly fixed to the inside of the bushing, I expect.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...c1cdf7edf1.jpg Tried pulling out the back, but had to reverse because the rusted end was the front side, so I wasn't trying to drag the rusted end all the way through. Once reoriented to pull forward, it cracked loose, then with more tightening and more successive cracks it was moved farther and farther. I added more spacers to reach all the way through and eventually pulled it out. Had to custom grind a washer from a steel plate that would push the outside firmly enough, yet not slip inside the bushing. Z1 makes a puller, and had a larger, stronger, acme threaded rod, but is designed to destroy the inside first then pull the outside, so no good if you're trying to preserve this. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...32d40004cd.jpg I used a 5/8" threaded rod from a truck brake chamber (grade 8), an iron pipe floor flange, some stacked washers, even a wood spacer, and some 1/2" wall 4.5" OD aluminum tube pieces to land outside the housing, to fashion a puller. The fancy aluminum piece was from when I experimented making a crank pulley wrench where the prongs would engage the pulley spokes, but that was from another car years ago and never came to fruition. I was going to bolt or have it welded to a leverage arm, but whatever, hehe. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...8efbfe6f76.jpg I roll pinned this nut in 3 places to the end, making it like a bolt head. |
Wow.
this was intense. |
Going to paint the front axle rusty CV housings too, but here is my improvised method to hold the hub and loosen the nut when there are no wheels on the ground and since the front transaxle and final drive will just freewheel.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...104a263526.jpg Had a few old lug nuts, used one and a 7/8" wrench with a cheater wrench, and a block, wasn't sue if this would work but it did, the stud seemed strong enough, was going to rest the wrench on a second nut / stud but it rode againt the hub socket just fine. |
This was an old nipper or crimper, that was about 3/4" wide that I hacksawed and ground narrow and undercut/ filed the teeth to make it into a push pin pliers.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...febd70156b.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...f70ebc3c28.jpg |
Yeah so I can't stand rust, what can I say, here are the front axles out, hubs separated from the knuckles too, goin' to dress it all up real nice what the heck.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b2bb4fc0dd.jpg The right / passenger side came out by prying the C-clip end, was not sure how it would pass through the strut fork so took it away, along with the knuckle and hub. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...1b16662798.jpg Didn't want to mark them up trying to punch the hub tabs in a circular way to loosen them like I've seen air hammers used to do, so I just set them down on the floor and a bit of wood between the shield and bottom side, then I used a wood peice as a drift, soaked a bit of penetrant first, but not too much trouble then. Picture shows the bolts still in- had only loosened them earlier. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...b3a611fca6.jpg The driver side had small bolts that were stubbornly tight to me, actually broke the only 6 point thing I had which was a 1/4 drive, need to get a 6 point 10mm wrench rather. I was able to remove 3 easy-to-loosen, retainer bolts and take the side shaft extension tube out all together. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...d344a98727.jpg Now I can work on getting a wrench or think of how to get them on the bench especially in the vise. I could put back the side shaft and retainer first separately, but may not since it's so much easier to tighten these here. Thinking about getting titanium for these so you can't round off the heads since it is such a hard metal. Original is a double drive - there are 5mm Allen sockets inside the 10mm hex, I can get the same thing in Ti. Did not try that, I think they will just round out, going to try the heat gun and some more blaster. update: used heat air gun to warm them up then a regular 12 point wrench with a cheater got them loose. Ordered 6 new oem nissan ones $1.73 a piece. The titanium ones I was browsing would have been nice but too much money I could not see spending. |
Originally Posted by Justin Bailey
(Post 4219989)
update: used heat air gun to warm them up then a regular 12 point wrench with a cheater got them loose. Ordered 6 new oem nissan ones $1.73 a piece. The titanium ones I was browsing would have been nice but too much money I could not see spending. |
Originally Posted by Hashim
(Post 4220011)
Good job on getting that driver's side shaft off, I've done the passenger side before and it just popped out with a pry bar, but I've read a couple of other accounts on here of how difficult the Drivers side was because of those bolts...coincidentally I was just under my G this weekend and saw my Drivers side axle is trashed so I'm gonna be pulling replacing it too..you don't happen to have the part numbers for the bolts handy lol? gotta order some parts
I am pretty sure it is necessary to at least remove the strut fork end. I had my whole knuckle off as well, maybe that could be turned to the side if the tie rod is disconnected idk. It passed by the engine mount, and remember I also have no air intake, coolant pipe, manifold, or cat in the way so I could reach the retainer bolts very easily, not sure what to say about the clearance to reach them when all of that is there, best thing could be to get a 10mm 6 point little wrench or a long pattern wrench, but even with the long pattern you may need a cheater wrench on it. The thing with getting the 6 screws on the car also is holding the shaft from turning in order to loosen them. I can definitely see problems trying to, but maybe loosen those before disassembling the suspension either with the wheel on or something blocking the studs to stop it from turning, then tighten it last after everything is back together. I found that either an electrical tape pack blister or a cap off of the large size easy off oven cleaner or spray adhesive cans have a larger cap that can be trimmed to make a temporary cap tight enough to wash around it, but just to keep dust out, regular paint can caps fit ok too in the opening. |
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