[Vwdiesel] Broken Exhaust Studs

[Mary Beth and Chris Geiser]

The Vanagon diesel uses studs/nuts from the exhaust manifold to the
first exhaust pipe instead of those spring clip things they use on the
cars.  3 of the four of mine are broke.  Took the manifold off yesterday
and the three broken ones still have enough nubby's on them to get a
vice grip on, so they're busy soaking in Liquid Wrench for the next few
days... the fourth came right out with the stud attached - woo hoo!!

A few questions as I'm reassembling:  The First exhaust pipe is bolted
to the manifold, then it makes a few turns and is attached to the
muffler which runs longitudinally along the back of the van on it's
hangers.  The whole system is bolted together and must vibrate / flex as
a unit - is there some type of flex pipe that I should have welded in
there to save stress on these exhaust studs?  I assume mine broke
because they were 23 yrs old and corroded to crap, but may have lasted
longer without the whole deal vibrating as one unit?

Secondly - This is really the first exhaust work I've done - is there a
special kind of material that the nut on the exhaust stud should be made
of to prevent some of this corrosion?  Should I use stainless steel nuts
or is there something better?

Thanks,

Chris