[V6-12v] Exhaust manifold studs (between manifold and cats)

[Eyvind Spangen]

I removed the exhaust system on my mom's '96 A6q yesterday. The cats had disintegrated and the bits were blocking the exhaust. Of course, after 11 years of salt, the studs between the manifolds and cat pipes were just a mess. 3 snapped, I got the nut of the last 3. Now, they are pretty bad too - almost no threads left, so I want to replace all of them.

Anyone done this with the manifolds still bolted to the engine? It looks *very* tight to pull the exhaust manifolds from the engine, but that way, it will be easy. Is it really that hard to pull the manifolds?

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E. Spangen