Tow Vehicle Repair

With the race season finally behind us, I can get caught up on some tow vehicle maintenance. MiniMoo was starting to get a heck of an exhaust leak under load, and the 6.0L GM engines are notorious for busting exhaust manifold studs. Turns out I had 3 on one side and 1 on the other that are snapped off. The factory uses a bolt with a smaller than normal head for some reason which is why they typically break. These lasted 10 years and 140k miles, so I’ll just stick with them for the time being.

The heat shielding on the exhaust manifold was broken and also rattling, and since the hardware was rusted beyond use, I just cut them off with the plasma cutter.

And the manifold removed with a few exposed broken bolts. You can see the exhaust soot from the leakage on the head.

Plenty of clearance to do the job Clarence.

With part of the stud still protruding, I could still use my special bolt remover to get them out. Luckily, after a few days of soaking in kroil, they all came out without a fight.

And replaced with some new bolts and gaskets. One side done!