I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

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audiocontr
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Location: Buffalo NY

I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

Post by audiocontr »

You can, and should, if possible, install with the headers on. I did not, and had to deal with broken studs, torquing, retorquing, thin gaskets, and finally getting it to work.

Tools you will need:

3" cutting disk and sawzall with metal blade. Use these to cut off the factory bolts holding the header to the heat exchanger. What? Your truck is so fantastic that you simply unscrewed yours? go to hell! Mine were rusted solid! Its easier and faster to use the sawzall on the outside 4 bolts. I used the 3" disk to cut the heads off the center 2. I also used the 3" disc to cut out the holes in the center, creating a U on the heat exchanger middle holes. There was NO WAY that the factory bolts were coming out as they were wedged down in there. The U allows them to slide out laterally

1/2" or 13 mm wrenches, sockets and extensions. I'd suggest using an old worn out 13mm on the header nuts if you do decide to take them off. The rust and corrosion make it a challenge with getting a good socket onto the nut.

A mallet and ball joint splitter (to knock off the rings). They are just pressed on, and will slide off the end with a few good knocks of a mallet. It was easier with the fork splitter. I wish i would have known this before removing the manifolds

A great buzzwheel! You will need to remove enough material on the ends of the header so that the flex hose easily slides on and rotates. I removed enough material so that they went on with some pounding, later realizing that i did not have enough adjustment to get the inside headers attached. I had to remove everything and pound the flex coupler off, buzz down the pipe even further, and finally was able to easily slide it on/off and rotate. Please, for the love of god, remove enough material so they slide on easy....

A couple bolts that are shorter than the 6 they give you. Its easy to get the 4 outside bolts back on as you line it up, but the middle two are a little touchy. I reversed the direction of the middle bolts to make life easier. You'll see what i mean when you do it

If you do remove the headers, try to remember which bolt came off of where, as you will most likely remove the whole stud, and not just the nut. I ran into an issue where two gaskets would not compress due to the stud/corrosion welded nut combo not going into the head far enough to tighten. I used a washers as a spacer and it finally seated properly. We will see if the washers effect the torque.

Good luck. I probably spent 7 hours F-ing around with this. I purchased an acetylene torch (I needed an excuse) as a method to remove the broken studs. It didnt work... So i purchased a welder =). That worked well! I believe i spent about $1200 to remove two broken studs.

Ok fine... i wanted torches and a welder :lol:
1973 712m
1968 Haflinger
1965 Pathfinder
1978 GMC Palm Beach (Hey, its got 6 wheels!!)
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pcolette
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Location: Southwest Wisconsin

Re: I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

Post by pcolette »

After having done 3 of these (I'm a glutten for punishment!) I agree and add the following:

- not all heat exchangers are identical nor are the bolts all the same at the flange. Some came out easy and others were held captive by the heat exchanger sheet metal.

- and this is the best tip I can offer - remove the batteries and battery box and the splash shield. The additional elbow room you gain is well worth the effort.

Play safe - those cutting and grinding wheels can do major damage to flesh.
Paul C.
_________
'73 Swiss 710M
'89 Puch 230GE
kdiqq
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Location: Houston, TX

Re: I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

Post by kdiqq »

Maybe I was special, but my install wasn't so bad. I did learn a lot though. I pulled both the headers and ground the weld off with a bench grinder. Then I installed both headers and tried to install the flex coupler. That was the wrong thing to do. It didn't fit. Pulled both headers again, slipped the coupler on to both headers and then put both headers in at the same time. FOR SOME REASON, the 1-4 header would NOT seat correctly and it drove me up a wall. I finally got it to seat by doing an inside-out torque pattern with like 1/2 turns. Took forever. I did have to sand down the mating face of the coupler to the heat exchanger. A combo of extensions allowed me to get all the bolts in the motor, but several had seized so the stud came out. Ended up removing all studs and replaced with new. Double nutting made quick work of those.

Oh I knew there was a point to the rambling. The old heat exchanger bolts... I used a breaker bar. I'm good at collateral damage with a grinder, so I snapped every bolt with a breaker after getting a box-end wedged on to the other side. A good option 2, if you're less than steady with a grinder.
1977 Austrian 710M
Buzz
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Re: I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

Post by Buzz »

These are great posts and having done this job, I can add only two things. 1) It's worth doing for all the improvements you get. 2) When the header studs come out with the corroded nuts attached, just get new studs and nuts. I was floored to find them reasonably priced at my local Ace hardware in the metric section of their nuts and bolts aisle. Prior to that point I too had tried reusing the old ones and concluded they would never be tight enough.
"It's as stupid and wonderful as owning a pet elephant."
1974 Pinzgauer 710M
1990 Puch G Wagon 230 GE
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Hotzenplotz
Austria
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Location: Vienna, Austria

Re: I hated installing the flex coupler, so heres some tips

Post by Hotzenplotz »

my 5 cents of wisdom here:

go for stainless bolts and nuts. you will be grateful the next time you have to disassemble the thing ...
Cheers
Albert
========================
My Pinz has NEVER been with any army
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