WD40, Brute force and a big bar extender/hammer is often the way. Good luck!

 

Before you try the muscle route, try a liberal application of CRC's Freeze-Off. It has performed miracles for me many many times over the years. The last time was when I changed out the rotors on my '02 XKR. Sprayed the freeze-off at the base of the wheel studs and the heretofore recalcitrant rotor loosened it's grip on the studs and the wheel hub, and fell off.


Z

 

The new pipe arrives tomorrow, and luck would have it that tomorrow is a festive day and I have no school. I don’t know if I can source it locally for tomorrow, but after reading how it works, maybe a combination of penetrating fluid and Endo Ice could do it. (Endo ice is used to diagnose endodontal diseases by freezing a cotton pellet which is then applied to a tooth.)

 

Most good auto parts stores, NAPA, O’Reillys, etc will have all the CRC products, including Freeze Off.

Z

 

Alright, I'll take a quick trip to see. We don't have NAPA or O'Reilly's anywhere in PR, what we do have is Advanced Auto, Auto Zone, and Pep Boys. I think Pep Boys is the most likely to stock it.

 

Tried the freeze off but the head just rounded out. I’m going to buy an extractor kit.

This thing is fighting me even with the extraction kit. I seriously do not want to remove the throttle body elbow again just to be able to swap an EGR pipe.

 

I hate fastener issues. Always a drag to have a project come to a standstill while stud or bolt removal voodoo is employed.

good luck,

Z

 

So do I.

I managed to remove the EGR pipe. It only took removing the throttle body elbow once again and then using a bolt extractor on those two bolts. This time it only took me two hours.

Tomorrow morning I’ll go to “La Casa De Los Tornillos”, (the house of screws) which is a nifty store where they sell nearly every tool and fastener known to man. They should be able to match the screw. They usually come through when no other place can.

I think I should have the car back on the road by midday if there are no more roadblocks.

The new EGR pipe is considerably more robust than the stock one. I was actually worried it wouldn’t fit until I compared them. The inner diameter, the length, shape, and fittings are the same. The new one is made of a different alloy and has a much thicker outer diameter.

I forgot to take a comparison picture today. I’ll snap one in the morning before I get to work.

 

I got it all buttoned up already. I started working and only remembered about taking a picture once I already had the new one in with the throttle body elbow in place. Still, I think the images can illustrate the differences. I re-assembled everything in about 3 hours. I took the car for a short test-drive and everything seemed to be working well. There are no apparent coolant leaks either. Next project is the valve cover gaskets. My driver's side gasket is leaking.



Old one, broken and mended ineffectively mended with JB-Weld




'New' one, already in place and it is quite a bit thicker on the external diameter.