[T3] Muffler Nuts...

[Jim Adney]

On 4 Oct 2016 at 21:55, J. Jonik wrote:

> Got the right size flat wrench for the job...used 3 ft breaker
> bar...tried chiseling with heavy hand sledge...tried propane
> heat...tried hammering the wrench...nothing moved.  CRC or Liquid
> Wrench are no good because fluid won't go up-hill. 

I always use anti-seize when I put those parts together. Once they 
freeze up, there's only one way to get them apart: Cut the muffler 
off, as close to the upper HEs as you can. Then put the HE in a vise 
and heat up the male remnant of that "pipe union" connection to red 
heat with an oxy-acetylene torch. I regularly get these apart this 
way. It takes a big torch, a big vise, and a big wrench.

The first time I was faced with this problem was back in the 70s. I 
tried soaking them in various kinds of penetrating oil, including 
Kroil, for literally years. It didn't work. Many years later, I got 
them apart with the "heat wrench."

Russ once mentioned that at the dealership, when these cars were 
newish, with the car up on a lift, they cut off the muffler then went 
at the union with a suitable socket and a huge impact driver. These 
days, I'd be worried that this would snap off the rusted exhaust 
studs in the heads.

> Problem is that replacement Heat Exchangers may not be available for
> thousands of miles...and then will probably cost a fortune.  It was
> pure luck that got me the "new" unused muffler. 

I have new and used heat exchangers, and I can also, most likely, get 
your parts apart.

-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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