Disintegrated exhaust bolts

jimbo1958 · Post by **jimbo1958** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 12:21 pm

Well done with persevering Jake.

JakeGT · Post by **JakeGT** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:49 pm

Been working in the freezing cold over the last couple of mornings before work. Thought i had finished but then realized i'd missed the bracket. D'oh. One problem I did have was the lambda sensor stopping me from getting a bolt through so had to put it through the other way, no big problem really.

In my haste to get her off the axle stands I forgot to take a photo

Roundozo · Post by **Roundozo** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:28 am

Just about to buy some M10 bolts but does anyone know the length I need?

Also buying M10 copper nuts so hopefully will not have a huge issue if I need to remove again.

And last question to OP, how did you find those gaskets in the end? How much did they intrude on the flow of air etc?

Ta!

Roundozo · Post by **Roundozo** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 8:59 am

Anyone? Dont mind if they're slightly too long as I can cut them down but obviously if they're too short.....

Mike6 · Post by **Mike6** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 6:40 pm

Sorry to resurrect this but my low mileage 2005 2.5 Zed had its MOT yesterday. The MOT tester always allows me to get under the car and watch. I was surprised at the excellent condition of everything,zero rust even surface on areas where you might expect a bit like brake pipes and unions. However the flange where the exhaust joins the manifold was completely rusted just as if someone had immersed it in salty water for a few years. The nuts were rusted away and the flange itself was just a lump of rust far worse than the pictures on here. Its just not salvageable and the tester gave me contact details of an exhaust fabricator who might be able to help. Its puzzling as the rest of the exhaust system is in excellent condition.
Given my car is low mileage and has been well cared for this must be a common problem on cars used more frequently in all weathers. Has anyone come up with a solution to an extreme case of the rusts, like a joining section ??

Thanks

Mike6 · Post by **Mike6** » Wed Aug 24, 2016 6:09 pm

Just to complete this. My car was booked in today and whilst it looked completely knackered they managed to burn off all the rust, cleaned up and put in new bolts and gave me a written two year warranty. Best £160 I have spent as it seems most 3 series cars suffer from the same problem, are often left too late for an effective repair and are then scrapped as replacement parts run into the thousands.
I now have peace of mind against this Zed gremlin so if you havent had these flanges checked out make sure you do whilst they can still be repaired.
This issue has to go down as one of the significant things to check when thinking of buying a Zed.

chutley · Post by **chutley** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 4:14 pm

Just had my exhaust manifold bolts replaced atlocal garage - £150. Unfortunately, I now have engine management warning light on for post-OBD reveals issue is with Post-Cat O2 sensor. So the garage must have damaged it during the work - it was fine before it went in.

Where do I stand now? Should I expect to pay for this myself, or should the garage replace as they damaged it during the work?

Is the job that difficult that I should have expected the O2 sensor to be damaged?

Ducklakeview · Post by **Ducklakeview** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 5:07 pm

chutley wrote: ↑Sat Sep 15, 2018 4:14 pm Just had my exhaust manifold bolts replaced atlocal garage - £150. Unfortunately, I now have engine management warning light on for post-OBD reveals issue is with Post-Cat O2 sensor. So the garage must have damaged it during the work - it was fine before it went in.

Where do I stand now? Should I expect to pay for this myself, or should the garage replace as they damaged it during the work?

Is the job that difficult that I should have expected the O2 sensor to be damaged?

They've been too heavy with the hammer and probably damaged the heating coil.. Did it myself on my own when I did this job. Nowadays I just burn the majority of the stud out with the plasma cutter, leaving a mm or so that can be lightly tapped out, lesson learned..

Still a pig of a job mind, and I've done 4 this week!

Can't believe people are being charged the likes of £160 for this! I can do it in about 60 mins, so an hours labour plus gaskets, I charge £70, and that's with new bolts and BMW gaskets..

Mike

GuidoK · Post by **GuidoK** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 5:47 pm

do you know the code?

Jembo · Post by **Jembo** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 5:55 pm

Not the same area, but while ur underneath worth checking back box(es) as ordered these BMW E46 M3 & Z4M EXHAUST FLANGE REPAIR - STAINLESS STEEL 4 x FLANGE KIT REPAIR https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2150202715

At 2k for a new exhaust, seems a prudent measure given these are fairly corroded

chutley · Post by **chutley** » Sat Sep 15, 2018 6:08 pm

Ducklakeview - I messaged you, and sent you a text, but didn't get a reply?? So that's why I took car to local garage.

Can you do the back box mod with whole exhaust removed? PCW exhausts want £280 to do the job - but will do it without having to cut and sleeve.

I don't know fault code - garage told me it was O2 sensor. I am taking it back to them on onday - but not sure where I stand in regard to paying for a replacement sensor...

chutley · Post by **chutley** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:02 pm

So the garage replaced the O2 sensor, but charged me £82+VAT for a new BMW part. They didn’t charge me fitting - which in itself says they recognise they screwed up.

So annoyed - there was nothing wrong with the sensor until they started on the bolts. I pay for their cack handed work.

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:52 pm

I have a stock exhaust for sale if anyone is in need.

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com