MR2 Roadster Owners Club

The Workshop => Maintenance, Problems & Troubleshooting => Topic started by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:00

Title: I'm a member... GUT MY PRECATS!
Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:00
I'm sure I can guess what kind of response I'm likely to receive here but as the old line goes "if you don't ask, you don't get".

I am getting more and more concerned about the precats situation... mainly because I can see it's going to cause a problem for me eventually and I'm not mechanically minded enough to gut the dang things - even with all the guidance on the forum. Can you see where this is going yet?   s:) :) s:)  

Is there ANYBODY out there who's already gutted their precats, would be willing to gut mine???? For a fee obviously!   s:D :D s:D   Not sure what the going rate is but if you want to earn some cash from my poor old pocket then now's the time to speak up!

So then.... Anybody?   s:?: :?: s:?:
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:17
I'm gutting mine soon, i'd be happy report back from a laypersons perspective on what to do.
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Post by: markiii on January 20, 2005, 15:17
there is going to be a precat gutting meet soon as a few people have mentioned it.

For convenience if you want to atend this at my house in Welwyn please post here and I'll get some dates organised.

ta.
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:38
Hmm, yeah, I guess so, not too far from me.
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:38
I'll be up for a Gutting Meet, Mark.

Got me own O2 socket, too.   s8) 8) s8)
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 15:53
I'll be there too  s:) :) s:)
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Post by: Liz on January 20, 2005, 16:05
Grant did a very comprehensive post on how its done just here, if you are interested....

 m http://www.mr2roc.org/forum/viewtopic.p ... 07&start=0 (http://www.mr2roc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3507&start=0) m
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 16:17
I have that post saved as a fave, and i reckon i could do that.

However, its all the other posts about rounding off bolts that scares me.
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Post by: Peter Wright on January 20, 2005, 16:36
Quote from: "markiii"there is going to be a precat gutting meet soon as a few people have mentioned it.

For convenience if you want to atend this at my house in Welwyn please post here and I'll get some dates organised.

ta.

I will bring the wine if someone else brings the food !

Seriously tho is there a difference between the Roadster & Spyder PreCats

Pete
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Post by: Slacey on January 20, 2005, 16:37
Quote from: "Peter Wright"Seriously tho is there a difference between the Roadster & Spyder PreCats
None at all Pete.
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 19:05
It's worth keeping in mind that while there's a risk of snapping a stud or rounding off a bolt during the removal of the header, the entire point of the job is to prevent catastrophic engine failure. A damaged fitting can always be dealt with. Here are some tips I found for dealing with such a event:

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1 Just heating the stud to red heat and allowing it to cool is sometimes enough to crack the rust and allow it to screw out.

2 Welding a nut on the stud and turning it back and forth seems to break the rust to powder and allows it to come out. In some cases the studs are so thin it breaks them off.

3 Drilling out is the next method. Taking care to centre the punch will save a lot of work later digging out threads from an off centre hole. Done correctly, the remnants of the threads can be peeled out in several strips.

4 The final solution is blowing it out with the oxy torch. This is a last resort as it is possible to melt the cast iron and destroy the threads. It also makes the cast very hard so that it is difficult to cut an oversize thread. Drilling a hole through the stud first gives a thin edge to start the torch on and allows you to burn the thing out quickly without overheating the cast. Digging out the old oxide is not easy - use an old phillips screwdriver sharpened to a point and a small hammer.
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Tip number 1 worked for me. Also, you can minimize problems by using liberal amounts of bolt loosener on tough customers and give them 24 hours of soaking time. Cheap tools will also increase risk. Preferred brands in the U.S. are professional-grade Craftsman and Snap-On wrenches and sockets. They're pricey, but they give you every possible edge against rounding. Look for 6-sided sockets for maximum grip and avoid 12s and 16s. Prepare for the job, go slowly, be methodical and virtually anyone can pull this off successfully.
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Post by: heathstimpson on January 20, 2005, 19:28
Sorry just posted on the previous one  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  Please definately add me to the list as I have the Unichip on the way and don't want to rolling road tune until they are out. Plus there is the added bonuses of less worry about the engine and that extra noise with the H&S  s8) 8) s8)    s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
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Post by: Anonymous on January 20, 2005, 20:38
Please count me in for the gutting session
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Post by: Two's Company on January 20, 2005, 20:56
It's a bit of a journey for me but I might be up for it to get rid of the things!   s:D :D s:D
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Post by: Anonymous on January 23, 2005, 16:22
Count me in too please. I`m afraid I have no mechanical knowledge though   s:oops: :oops: s:oops:
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Post by: Liz on January 23, 2005, 17:22
Think attendees are going on this thread now:

 m http://www.mr2roc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6076 (http://www.mr2roc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6076) m