Thanks @kermit_rr. I will tighten then up further as it sounds like 50nm should be ok :)

Great that’s what I did

Thanks @Grrrrrr. There is a slight leak on both joins at 30NM although it's complicated slightly by the fact I wasn't sure which way round the gasket went (i.e ridged side into manifold pipe or front pipe. I will double check size of bolt before going tighter. I had to drill two of the old ones...

I have a 2002 4.0 P38 and have just replaced the exhaust system from the manifolds backwards. I am just about to torque everything up and checked RAVE. I am sure I am misreading something but there seems to be two torque values for the front pipe to manifold bolts. On page 11 of the repair...

A big thank you for all the help guys. All back together and looking good but I forgot to order new blanking nuts for the post cat o2 sensor holes and the old ones sheared straight off .... durrr :( So another few days until she's back on the road.

Guys, the advice has been amazing, thank you ! So as an update good progress has been made. No need to remove manifold , steering shaft etc as I have had my first bit of good luck on my exhaust journey and after drilling out the old stud the new one screwed back in perfectly :) All studs ready...

Thanks @kermit_rr. In the end with the amount of work to remove the manifold and potential of more broken studs/bolts I decided to drill the stud out in situ which was a pita but all done now. I don't have a tap set and can't seem to find a m10x5mm tap on line. Do you know if Is there any reason...

Thanks @kermit_rr. Will definitely go through the wheel arch. I've been reading up regarding removing the intermediate shaft which I've not done before. I've seen some comments about tying the steering wheel to prevent it turning. Also making sure the steering lock isn't on. I didn't see any of...

Cheers @Mark Piercy. Hopefully get it all back together today fingers crossed.

Well on the positive side all of the old exhaust is off. On the flip side one of the studs sheered clean off when trying to remove it from the manifold / down pipe. As predicted at the start of this thread the manifold is coming off tomorrow to drill out the little b****r. What I love about my...

Thanks guys. Advice much appreciated

Thanks for the advice. I certainly would like to leave the manifold removal as the last resort as the bolts look even worse on that (although it sounds like where I will end up) and try easier things first. I've ordered a stud remover so fingers crossed !

I have an arc welder and have done a bit of welding on the bench but not on the car. Where would you attach the earth to ? Really don't want to fry the ecu or anything else for the sake of an exhaust? Cheers

Hi, Firstly apologies if this is a bit of a newbie/numpty question. I am in the process of replacing the exhaust system on my P38 4.0 2002. I don't think anything has ever been touched since it left the factory as it took an age, vast amounts of heat etc to get the cross member bolts out. I...

Hope you're feeling better now ! I must say I like the supervising approach ... I might try that next time ;);)

Blimey. Sounds like I got off lightly :eek: What the heck happened ???

Today I replaced the rear air suspension bags which I think have been there since 2002. I read it was a '20 minute' job which turned into a three hour one due to clips snapping and a trip to the shops for a pry bar which fitted under the beast and a chisel ;););) Now enjoying a beer and a sense...

Thanks @Grrrrrr . Will give the body a good clean. Just wanted to check in there wasn't a more sinister potential problem.

Hi , Just recently the intake manifold has got oily on the outside as per the picture. I will replace the oil filter and clean out the pipes but is there anything else I should be checking? Thanks for any help and advice. Cheers

A massive thank you to @Datatek for his advice on this (and other topics). It'a such a pleasure to have a clear display with no SRS light and airbag error :) Just to sort out the cats and exhaust and my old girl may make another MOT after 148k. I'm pretty new to all this stuff and the advice and...