Hi all

My Skoda (now my daughter's) is coming back for a visit this weekend and to have the exhaust changed.

Last time I looked at this I couldn't get the fasteners off between the manifold and down pipe. But I don't remember whether they were bolts or nuts or something else.

Does anyone have any insight and tips for this job? What replacement parts are needed other than gasket (silent blocks are recently replaced). New bolts/nuts/studs? Are they copper or steel? And I assume they're M8/1.25.

Update: I think these are studs and nuts. They might be spring studs too.

I've ordered a batch of 10.9 M8 studs and nuts and assume I will have to drill out the old ones although I might try to split the nuts with a multi tool and reuse the studs.

The three studs coming down off the manicat?

M10 I think, but M8 will probably do.

They are studs and nuts on my sons 1.2 06 plate. I sprayed them for a few days with penetrating oil and they came off fairly easy. I replaced front pipe with flexi as it was blown. I just used the original gasket as it seemed fine with a slight smear of exhaust paste just in case. There is a bolt that connects a spring like stabiliser that sheared but I managed to replace as its in part of the exhaust. Think it was a 13mm head so probably m8

Alasdair

thanks both

they were indeed M10s. but I only had M8 replacement studs; so left them in after cleaning out the threads and applying copper grease.

I had to reuse the nuts as well (same reason). They got a bath in citric acid and a scrubbing.

Like you, @Alasdair1, the bolt for the metal exhaust hanger cracked off but luckily that was an M8 and I had those.

the connection between the mid-box and the silencer was beyond repair. cranking on the nut just blew the carriage bolt socket out on the other side. an angle grinder solved those problems but one of the band clamps was so fatigued that it broke doing it back up. I had a spare D-clamp, thankfully. replacement bolt for the other band clamp came from one of the unneeded studs with two brass locking nuts.

getting the front of the exhaust off was a 10 minute job in the end. the back was more like an hour.

hopefully the car will pass its MOT now!

Glad you got it sorted. Its a lot simpler on the Fabia. My daughter has a VW Up and the front flexi is part of the Cat. I managed to patch hers up for the MOT but will have to remove Cat and see if I can get a flexi repair. Problem is the angle it comes off the Cat so may have to replace that as well or get it welded. Why they don't make it simple I don't know.

Alasdair

it is simple if you just buy a whole new part!

it's a sad indictment on the world that labour rates have risen so high that it encourages a throwaway and buy anew culture rather than fix. I used to live in france (for 25 years) and it was heartening to see so many cars from the 1960s and 70s still entirely happily on the road (pollution notwithstanding...)