I tried searching for this, but do any of you guys have a trick for getting the clamp off where the turbo and up-pipe manifold/babies butt join? This is on a '01 Ex with ~250k miles, and is probably the first time they've been off. The clamp at the turbo & spider came off pretty easy, and the clamp at the turbo & downpipe eventually popped off with a little bit of prying. But that back one, that's proving to be impossible to get anything into it to try and pop the three "V's" off the joint. I can't get it to budge at all, despite having the nut on the band loosened all the way to the end of the threads. I screwed with it for hours yesterday after starting a EBPV-delete & bellowed up-pipes job, finally hosing it down one more time with penetrant as best I could and calling it a night.


Any tricks or advice would be much appreciated. Anyone know if it's possible to disconnect the up-pipes at the manifold, and pull the turbo out with that manifold still attached to the turbo?

 

A small pry-bar is your best friend.

 

Here's a link to some helpful tips if this works.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-video-2.html
Post #18

 

Large tipped, thick flat tip screwdriver and hammer taps worked for me at about 265K miles. It was a little stubborn, but not too bad. I'm not sure if it had ever been loosened in the truck's first 114K miles, but I KNOW it had not been touched since I bought it 8 years earlier at 114K.

 

Thanks for the replies. From what angle where you guys able to best get into it and tap or pry on the thing? I grabbed a couple extra tools from work today to try out, see if I can somehow get a good pry on it.


If it comes to it, anyone ever tried lifting the turbo out with the baby-butt still attached to it? I'm not sure there's enough room to do that...

 

Trial and error. If you use an old bed comforter or blanket on top of the engine, it's easier to work back there by just laying on top of everything (soft and breakable parts obviously removed, though)

I honestly can't remember if I removed my turbo with the collector still on it or not. I do remember, though, that I had already removed the bottom flange bolts on the up-pipes before I removed the upper flange bolts, and when the last upper bolt came loose on each pipe, the up-pipe simply fell completely trough the flange and out of the truck almost on top of me... the donut gaskets were COMPLETELY gone with absolutely NO sign of them anywhere. I just can't remember if I removed the turbo and collector at the same time, but I believe I already had the triple v-band clamp loose at that point.

 

Here's what worked for me: Turbo Up Pipe Removal

 

Be like tjmike; hit the collector, not the clamp.

 

Yes, the padding definitely helps. I used some moving blankets. What I found helps even more, if you are doing some major work in there, is to remove the front wheels, and lower the truck onto jack stands, as low as you can possibly get it without anything hitting the ground. It makes things SOOOO much easier.

 

I ended up getting a long pry bar in between the two halves of the turbo and underneath the lip of the top "V", and got that one to pop free. I was then able to reach around from the drivers side, grab the clamp, and pop the drivers side "V" off. I then took a long block of wood and alternated taps on the up-pipe manifold and the turbo itself, until the final "V" on the passenger side popped off. I was then able to slide the turbo out and get it onto the workbench.


After that I figured I'd pop the pedestal out. Three of the four bolts came right out, but the fourth rounded the damn head off with a six-point socket. Seriously, why does Ford insist on using such small heads on their bolts? Going to give that last bolt one more chance with an extractor tonight, and if that doesn't work then I might be taking the "F this!" route and putting it all back together, cause I'm sure as hell not trying to drill one of those pedestal bolts out. If that's the case, then I can live with the small oil leak and original up-pipes that appear to still be sealed up perfectly fine.


If it does come out, then I can decide if I want to move even further into it with the up-pipes, cause wow those look truly awful to get unbolted and out.

 

Use a flat head chissel and hammer on the side of the head counter clock wise, you'll see it break the torque holding it in.

 

You've got a few options. Heat up the bolt and with a torch, douse it with penetrating oil, and then use a bolt-out extractor (Craftsman Bolt-Out Set).

The second option is to grind the head off and remove the rest of the bolt with a pair of vice grips. Use plenty of penetrating oil and heat. If the vice grips don't work, a stud extractor will get it out (Titan Tools 3/8 Drive Stud Extractor).

If you have a welder, you could weld a nut onto the bolt.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, I do definitely appreciate it. This site has been very helpful in finding solutions to every new roadblock I hit. Luckily the extractor was able to get a solid grip on the top of the rounded off bolt, and I got it out. Was able to lift the pedestal right out after that.


I then spent some time inspecting the up-pipes job as that would be the next step, and wow I need to do some research on just how the heck people get those loose and out of there, cause damn! How do you even get to that backside bolt on the passenger-side pipe at the baby-butt? I entertained the idea of removing the down-pipe for increased clearance, but I'm not sure the two nuts will come free at the muffler joint, and it looks like I'd have to drop that entire subframe that holds the backside of the drivetrain up in the truck. That sounds...not fun. Really considering not touching them, as the stock ones are still clean and sealed up well. But murphy's law and all that, and I'll kick my own *** when they blow out in 5k miles after I've already put everything back together. Any advice on making that job suck less? Will search as well...


After deciding to not touch those yet, I tried to get the exhaust housing off of the turbo itself. Seven 5/16ths bolts, with 12-point heads, that've been cooking on a turbo for 16 years and 235K miles. What could possibly go wrong?! So yeah, only 3 of those 7 came out without rounding. Cut the heads off the other four, and the housing fell off. Now have 4 "studs" left sticking out of the mating surface that I need to remove. They've been soaking since last night, and I'll attack them with a stud remover and vice grips later on.


Also still debating ordering the FRx, HPx, high-flow CVD's, and high-flow banjo bolts, from Riffraff, just because I'm already down this far and in there. I have no plans to do any crazy builds to this truck, but they all seem to be sound mods for a smoother running and more efficient engine. Worth it?

 

I'll chime in on the mods you mentioned. I did them to my truck and I don't notice any difference at all, maybe it's just me,I don't know, but I wouldn't do them again, waste of time and money imo. Now for the up pipes loosen the bolts on the manifolds,most likely they will fall out of the butt on their own,mine did.Good luck and don't get to frustrated with the new install.

 

Unless you're doing crazy mods, I wouldn't think those are worth the effort, either. I have the HPx and the predecessor to the FRx (from someone else who designed the early version of a "poor man's RR"), but I'm not sure how much difference either has made. If you just want reliability, you really don't need them.