nut stayed , stud came out what now?

[dosmastr]

Hey guys,

I was doing a simple exhaust pipe replacement on my civic. 3 nuts on the studs of the mani-cat, 2 nuts came off, but the third one the stud unscrewed instead. Do I just screw that back in and pretend it’s a bolt now? Or replace with a bolt or?

Topic

[dosmastr]

Top to bottom:
what should have come off.
What DID come off.
The only bolt I have that is close to the size needed

Attachments:

• 1429806546033765107028.jpg

[Mike]

You can do it either way. Many times I run into that, I’m replacing the pipe the stud was in and the new pipe has the stud in it already. Then it’s a nut I’m after. It’s totally fine to just pretend it’s a bolt now and put it back in where it came out. I’ve done it many times. Of all the ways you can not do something “right”, this is one of the least cobby ways of working with what you’ve got. Replacing the bolt is fine too, as long as it tightens down ok (the bolt pictured is a lot longer than your “new” bolt).

[dosmastr]

I was really scared the pressure from the crush gasket would strip the “bolt” but nope it went in and on just fine

thanks much sir!

[Nick Warner]

The nut head was pretty rusty. Sure you want to put it back in and take a chance of it rounding off if you ever have to go back in? Studs, nuts and bolts are cheap hardware. If it was me I would’ve tossed the fasteners for new ones. I hate rounded fasteners causing me issues later, and these studs have gone through a lot of heat cycles. They get brittle after a lot of that. New ones save headaches later. Look at how much fun Eric had with that 3.4 engine. Those ones are real good for that. I consider it a success to unbolt those with only 3 breaking off inside. When I saw him starting that vid I cringed knowing what he was about to get into.

[dosmastr]

I got it back in, but I didn’t have much choice. I had to leave for work in a half hour and a round trip jog to the auto parts store (which probably wouldn’t have had what I needed) would’ve run that whole 30 minutes (no install time). Not sure if I used the wrong sized nut installing the cat or what but I used a 1/2″ socket, not the 13mm that the others were… it just fit more snugly. That said, if I had the time and knew I could get the correct stud, I would have.

I’m hopeful I won’t need to touch it ever again. The mani-cat is a Genuine OEM which I replaced just 3 years ago, the down pipe I just did. The original mani-cat lasted over 10 years, and car just rolled over 200k (leaking oil and tranny gear oil, but still running well)

hmm that reminds me… i should top off the trannys oil again soon.

sounds like I got pretty lucky heh

[Nick Warner]

I’ve broken a lot of laws, but the only ones I can’t break even if I try are the law of gravity and Murphy’s law.

Hopefully you are right and dodged a bullet here. If you have to revisit this, plan ahead before you go in and when you are getting the parts just get new hardware at the same time. Murphy hates people with a wrench in their hand, and he enforces his law. Best of luck in all things holding up for you.

[Author]

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