Nearly in tears

Please pleasecan someone help me .yesterday i wanted to clean up the rocker cover it was rusty dirty etc .so ordered a febi rubber gasket seal with pins to do it with .pulled of the airbox got the rusted nuts off .pulled of the cam cover and plastic cover underneath de-greased them polished up the cam cover lokked pretty good went to change thd pegs could not for the life of me get the one out that sits underneath the cable linked to the carburettor tried 2 nuts on it lubricant even heat mole grips etc would not budge did the other no problem thought well its at the back no worries fitted the gasket added the new nuts to go with the new pegs .did not have a torque wrench so did them the best i could went for a drive smoke pouring in the cabin engine sounding like a tractor pulled over lifted the bonnet engine was on fire !!! Literally on fire .well the manifold mainly coudent figure it out had to drive home same again smoke etc popped the bonnet car on fire again threw water on as i did the first time put it out checked for damage nearly in tears coudent see any damage lost 2 litres of oil all iver the place sounded like a tractor .pulled everything off again figured out the peg id left in had a lip at the bottom  so the gasket with metal inserts couldent sit right hence oil pouring out straight on the manifold flash bang fire ..sorted the peg by removing the metal insert on that one  hole filled with oil some residual smoke but no fear and seemingly no leaks .problem is still sounds like a tractor rattling away better at higher revs but awful .feel so stupid wish id never touched it absolutely gutted what damage have i done .please be gentle with me could cry over my pride and joy being on fire

DOn't you just hate it when that happens! A simple little job that turns into a nightmare.

Been there, done that. Erm not the fire but usually very annoying.

Did you put the plastic splash tray back in? If not your oil will be going everywhere.

Also did you top the oil up again?

It's not the end of the world. Even if you've cooked the head it's easy enough to remove, get tested and sorted and stick it back on again. The head company will also remove stubborn rocker cover studs (don't ask me how I know    )

The cost will be around £250 for a head skim, valve job and spring change. All worth doing on a car that's got some age on it if it's never been done.

It'll be fine  

Ian

Thanks pal ive nice to know im not the first .i took it to a mechanic friend of mine today he seems to think ive split the manifold by throwing freezing cold water on the manifold when it was red hot .and i must say it does sound like its blowing from around that area .yes i topped up the oil and refitted the plastic shield before the cam cover went on ..it does still seem to be accelerating ok .apart from the blowing seen a stainless steel exhaust manifold online ..think i might just change it .what do you think as theres no gaurentee my friend is correct. Think il invest in one of those small car fire extinguishers for the glove box lol thanks again mate really appreciate your reply

Had an exhaust technician look at it today definitely the manifold cracked .as its cast he wont weld it any ideas apart from just buying a stainless steel one as i cant seem to locate any replacement except that

What engine? 

1.8 automatic .with a pierburg e2 on it .1990 on a G plate G710DDF not sure of the engine code mate why

Thought I may have one, but not for that engine unfortunately. 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. 

Ok mate thanks anyway is a stainless my best option then im a newbie really to most of this

Is your exhaust manifold the type with the 2 big C clamps to hold the down pipe on?

Like this one? This one is more money than I would pay for it….

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mk1-Golf-Cabriolet-1-8-Exhaust-Manifold-As-Pictured/112976657752?hash=item1a4deefd58:g:bEAAAOSwX8da7Vfu

put up a wanted ad?
 

Hi again mark1yes i believe it is .the stainless one ive seen seems to bypass that and it links straight to the next pipe is that right mate ? Not thought of a wanted ad

Yes the stainless system does fit the middle section of the exhaust, you need to wrap at lest the rubber boot for the steering UJ as it runs very close and it can catch fire and you don't want that again… I've also wrapped my exhaust to keep the heat down.

The stainless 4 2 1 is a good mod and in my GTi it has freed up the top end of the revs, not sure you will notice much difference in an auto and the manifold is a right pain to fit and getting the rest of the exhaust not to bang on the cars floor took several attempts…

Ok mark1 thanks mate for confirming that especially the heat wrap part i dont want another ordeal .my auto does have a great kickdown so maybe il notice a bit just seems like the only way to go its my daily driver and sounds like a tractor your not near rochdale are you mark1

I'm glad it's nothing too major.

I'm sure someone will have an exhaust manifold knocking about somewhere. Stick up a wanted ad.

sporttrucker  Sean, you ain't got one have you? I know you're having a clear out and you've got lots of wonderous stuff in your Aladins cave

Ian

mark1gls said

Yes the stainless system does fit the middle section of the exhaust, you need to wrap at lest the rubber boot for the steering UJ as it runs very close and it can catch fire and you don't want that again… I've also wrapped my exhaust to keep the heat down.

The stainless 4 2 1 is a good mod and in my GTi it has freed up the top end of the revs, not sure you will notice much difference in an auto and the manifold is a right pain to fit and getting the rest of the exhaust not to bang on the cars floor took several attempts…

I put the g60 4-2 on my car with a dual down pipe, and it does give it a kick in the pants on an Auto.

I used sheet tin (aluminum) to prevent the heat from attacking the steering rack, and the cv-boots which you have to be very mindful of.

Brilliant thanks briano and thanks mark1 and thanks ian .ive purchased some titanium heat wrap so definitely going to do that. Found out its melted the manual choke cable some how so gonna replace that to .do you need a ramp to do the manifold yourself as i have a garage but no ramp

Bought this one not sure about the quality but certainly be better than a cracked one 😣😣

Ramps are ok, but Jacking it as high as you can, and support it with jack stands got me by when I did the header on my 90.  I only wished that I had done that at the same time I did my clutch, and then again my Power steering rack…..

I have 3 sets of 4X4 blocks that are 12" long, and bolted together, I can get my car an additional 12" in the air. ok, 4X4" are really 3.75" so I lied.  

DO NOT USE CONCRETE CINDER BLOCKS, they can Crumble under the weight and kill you.

Thanks briano i want to have a go myself but it looks rusted to death the bolts n stuff are just rust .is it a pain to do .get to ? You sound like youve done most jobs on yours .i suppose im on a steep learning curve 👍

Start by sparying all the nuts with lots of WD40 or your preferred penetrating spray.

I would say heat normally helps too, but I think you've probably applied enough heat for a minute  

(Sorry, I just had to say that!)

Yep it's a pain in the bum to do it. You may find it easier to remove the carb as well as there are nuts under the inlet mainfold that are quite tricky to get to. I'd also suggest you have new studs on standby as you may need some. Obviously you're well aware of issues of getting studs out of things. New brass nuts will also be needed probably as will an exhaust gasket.

Getting the clips off the original exhaust to manifold joint is also a pain. There is a VW tool for it.

Does you new manifold come with a link pipe? It's been a while since I did mine but I think looking at the picture you have posted that you will require a short length of pipe to go from the minfold above to join the exhaust under the car.

Briano1234  can you confirm?

I had a whole new exhaust so I'm not sure about joining aftermarket mani's to the original exhaust.

Have a good look before you go ripping stuff off. You may need to go to an exhaust place to get it done if you do need a link pipe.

Ian

The raceland type header that you show needs a compression pipe it allows the engine and things to vibrate with out damaging the pipe or cracking the header

 



Then there are replacement studs that you can buy that have hex headed or Allen Drives which allow you to have an easier time to install and seat them.  I would STRONGLY URGE you to use the copper nuts, and never-seize on both ends of the stud, with the Driver ends it makes it easier to install the pipe then the studs to hang it.




Yes the second is Stainless, and they are from a 1992 Saturn SL1 4Cyl auto.

Using plenty of PB-Blaster or Croil, and a Pneumatic Impact (low profile) will prevent you from possibly torque shearing the studs that you are removing the nuts from, and if the whole stud comes out with the nut all the better.  Heat and a Wire brush on the nuts and plenty of PB-Blaster Days, hours and minutes prior to trying to remove them are the key……along with a pneumatic impact.  I know as I used a 6pt socket and ratchet on my 90, and ended up taking it to the machine shop to have 3 of the broken studs removed and helicoiled or t-serts installed….. Dang 8mm studs… if they used 10, then we wouldn't be having the shearing issue oh well.