The is pretty random, but I find that most people don't really understand the challenges (and rewards) of working on your own car. I figure you all will appreciate this, however.
I'm deep into the process of my 6-speed swap, and my wife often wonders why this process takes so long. Saturday was a textbook example of why. I spent most of the day trying to disassemble the turbos to replace the CHRAs. I did driver's side first, and the turbine housing bolts were a bitch, but ultimately they all came out. Several died in the process, mostly by rounding the corners. If you've never done these, they are 10mm hex head bolts, and they are squeezed up against the center section close enough that you can only get an open-ended wrench on them. Of course, they are part of the exhaust system, so they are well and truly stuck. I used a combination of hammering, PB Blaster and heat to get them out, and in most cases, I had to pound a sacrificial 3/8 inch wrench on them to get a tight-enough grip. I also used the "stacked" wrenches method to make a longer handle, and generally had to crawl all over my garage floor to find a good angle to pound, crank and swear at the thing.
Ultimately, I was successful, and was also also able to wrangle the compressor side off with some heat and tapping with a rubber mallet. FYI, they "glue" housing to the center section at the factory, so heating up the glue helps free it.
Then I started on the other turbo. First bolt was a complete no-go. Maybe my wrench was getting too stretched, or maybe it was my patience, but it did not take long before I had rounded the corners and no amount of heat or PB blaster seemed to be helping. I f&%ked around with that bolt for at least an hour and finally gave up. I went inside and spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to justify buying new turbos. I actually had trouble sleeping because I was having so much anxiety about how I was going to get that bolt out. I was mentally preparing to cut the head off and hope the rest would come out, and I would not spend a day drilling/tapping. Keep in mind, this was only the first bolt.
Sunday morning, I woke up with an idea (which is actually something I find works - go to sleep thinking about a problem, and you'll wake up with a solution). Vice Grips. I went out to the garage, grabbed a pair, got a good grip on the bolt, and pop, she came right out. Maybe it was the PB Blaster soaking all night, or the heat-cooling cycle having an effect, but I think getting a really firm grip on the bolt made the difference. Unfortunately, I had plans for the rest of Sunday, so I was not able to work on the other bolts, but I'm really, really, hoping that the rest are more cooperative.
So that's why this damn project is taking so long. One bolt per day :)
Gregg
