Victory_Overland
Explorer
It's been a few weeks since I swapped out my exhaust manifolds on Victory. I will run down a few basic steps I recommend to help work through the process that I learned along the way. If anyone has done this before and recommends any changes, please pipe in. I am starting this thread because when I asked around, nobody could seem to provide any insight on doing this. I hope this helps anyone in the future.
*****Of note, I found four bolts finger tight on the left manifold where the suspected exhaust leak was confirmed. No kidding, finger tight and it is easily seen on the old gasket below where the blow by was happening. My right manifold had another 2-3 loose bolts. I am the second owner and there was no exhaust work done by either of us. I have read on other forums that there was an issue with loose manifold bolts or exhaust leaks; not sure how true this is but surely a factor on both of my manifolds.****
I performed this job because I had a known exhaust leak in the area. I purchased both gaskets in an attempt to do this job while I had the front end apart.
STEP 1: DO THIS JOB WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR SUSPENSION REMOVED. IT'S WORTH THE EXPENSE OF THE GASKETS TO SIT ON THE SHELF FOR YOUR SUSPENSION JOB DAYS SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEMPT THIS ON ITS OWN.
STEP 2: The aluminum heat shields are (3) three-piece units. I recommend using a few wobble sockets for the job and maybe have an offset and/or straight flat combination wrench if you do not have access to any type of small power tool. 10mm for heat shields and manifold bolts.
Access to the manifolds on both sides is relatively easy with the suspension removed. With the upper control arms installed; good luck getting the bolts out and the gaskets in without bending them.
Access with suspension IN
Access with suspension OUT
STEP 3: Unbolt the exhaust under the vehicle at the two flanges from the manifolds to the exhaust pipes. I did not take pics of this because it is fairly straightforward. This is important to completely unbolt the exhaust flanges, so it is possible to drop the manifolds away from the heads to remove the gaskets.
STEP 4: Remove the heat shields. It is possible to remove the manifold heat shields as one piece. However, they are three-piece units for a reason. The heat shields have studs with 10mm nuts that hold them together. The heat shields are held to the frame with three 10mm bolts. Pick your poison on which you want to remove first; I found it easiest to remove the nuts which allows the centerpiece to removed first with the two outside frame bolts last.
STEP 5: There are two bolts per exhaust port (8 bolts and 8 standoff spacers) per side. I removed the outside bolts first and worked my way inboard, so I was able to hold the manifold flat against the head until the last bolt was out. This is where the extensions and wobble extensions come in handy. Also, a power tool with a known torque clutch helps for removal and install without the risk if stripping the aluminum heads. Be very careful on removal and install as a stripped manifold bolt is going to cause expensive and timely problems.
STEP 6: LEFT (Drivers) SIDE MANIFOLD. On the left (Driver) side manifold, the crossover tube must be disconnected. It is two bolts and easiest to reach the top of the engine behind the engine and in front of the firewall. It is quite the reach, but an extension and power tool is the way to go here as turning moment is quite tight. There is a gasket between the two flanges; be careful to retain the gasket. It will slide out easily, and I found this to be fairly easy if the manifold was completely loose first while removing and installing the metal gasket and 2 x bolts.
STEP 7: The gaskets are held in place against the head with a single 10mm bolt. The bolt is located on the back of the head on the upper portion next to the back exhaust port. The gasket has an extended tab for this bolt to assist in aligning the gasket against the head. On install, install this bolt, but leave it loose to hold the gasket in place but still allow you to maneuver it when you put the manifold bolts in.
STEP 8: With all 8 manifold bolts and spacers removed and the gasket retaining bolt is removed, pull the manifold down toward the frame. It will give you about an inch of space to allow for removal of the gasket. The gasket needs to be wiggled and twisted a tad to get it out, but it does come out fairly easy on both sides. The manifold will not come completely out and be cautious to NOT rotate it too much as it can become stuck and difficult to get the gasket out or in (MY EXPERIENCE LEARNED THE HARD WAY) and also to get the manifold back into its correct position. Do not bend or kink the gasket or crush the layered gasket flats.
STEP 8: Remove the gasket, inspect it for leak areas, inventory your hardware, and reinstall in reverse order. Note the old gasket! If you look closely, two ports have significant flow/leak marks.
TO BE CONTINUED:
*****Of note, I found four bolts finger tight on the left manifold where the suspected exhaust leak was confirmed. No kidding, finger tight and it is easily seen on the old gasket below where the blow by was happening. My right manifold had another 2-3 loose bolts. I am the second owner and there was no exhaust work done by either of us. I have read on other forums that there was an issue with loose manifold bolts or exhaust leaks; not sure how true this is but surely a factor on both of my manifolds.****
I performed this job because I had a known exhaust leak in the area. I purchased both gaskets in an attempt to do this job while I had the front end apart.
STEP 1: DO THIS JOB WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR SUSPENSION REMOVED. IT'S WORTH THE EXPENSE OF THE GASKETS TO SIT ON THE SHELF FOR YOUR SUSPENSION JOB DAYS SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEMPT THIS ON ITS OWN.
STEP 2: The aluminum heat shields are (3) three-piece units. I recommend using a few wobble sockets for the job and maybe have an offset and/or straight flat combination wrench if you do not have access to any type of small power tool. 10mm for heat shields and manifold bolts.
Access to the manifolds on both sides is relatively easy with the suspension removed. With the upper control arms installed; good luck getting the bolts out and the gaskets in without bending them.
Access with suspension IN
Access with suspension OUT
STEP 3: Unbolt the exhaust under the vehicle at the two flanges from the manifolds to the exhaust pipes. I did not take pics of this because it is fairly straightforward. This is important to completely unbolt the exhaust flanges, so it is possible to drop the manifolds away from the heads to remove the gaskets.
STEP 4: Remove the heat shields. It is possible to remove the manifold heat shields as one piece. However, they are three-piece units for a reason. The heat shields have studs with 10mm nuts that hold them together. The heat shields are held to the frame with three 10mm bolts. Pick your poison on which you want to remove first; I found it easiest to remove the nuts which allows the centerpiece to removed first with the two outside frame bolts last.
STEP 5: There are two bolts per exhaust port (8 bolts and 8 standoff spacers) per side. I removed the outside bolts first and worked my way inboard, so I was able to hold the manifold flat against the head until the last bolt was out. This is where the extensions and wobble extensions come in handy. Also, a power tool with a known torque clutch helps for removal and install without the risk if stripping the aluminum heads. Be very careful on removal and install as a stripped manifold bolt is going to cause expensive and timely problems.
STEP 6: LEFT (Drivers) SIDE MANIFOLD. On the left (Driver) side manifold, the crossover tube must be disconnected. It is two bolts and easiest to reach the top of the engine behind the engine and in front of the firewall. It is quite the reach, but an extension and power tool is the way to go here as turning moment is quite tight. There is a gasket between the two flanges; be careful to retain the gasket. It will slide out easily, and I found this to be fairly easy if the manifold was completely loose first while removing and installing the metal gasket and 2 x bolts.
STEP 7: The gaskets are held in place against the head with a single 10mm bolt. The bolt is located on the back of the head on the upper portion next to the back exhaust port. The gasket has an extended tab for this bolt to assist in aligning the gasket against the head. On install, install this bolt, but leave it loose to hold the gasket in place but still allow you to maneuver it when you put the manifold bolts in.
STEP 8: With all 8 manifold bolts and spacers removed and the gasket retaining bolt is removed, pull the manifold down toward the frame. It will give you about an inch of space to allow for removal of the gasket. The gasket needs to be wiggled and twisted a tad to get it out, but it does come out fairly easy on both sides. The manifold will not come completely out and be cautious to NOT rotate it too much as it can become stuck and difficult to get the gasket out or in (MY EXPERIENCE LEARNED THE HARD WAY) and also to get the manifold back into its correct position. Do not bend or kink the gasket or crush the layered gasket flats.
STEP 8: Remove the gasket, inspect it for leak areas, inventory your hardware, and reinstall in reverse order. Note the old gasket! If you look closely, two ports have significant flow/leak marks.
TO BE CONTINUED:
Last edited:
