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Old 08-23-2007, 07:13 PM
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MSA Headers

Ok stupid question however I just got my motor back from the machine shop and the guy didnt give me back all the bolts I needed in order to reinstall my headers and intake manifold. I was wondering if anyone could tell me the specific size of those bolts and somewhere i could find them in the Riverside area?
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Old 08-23-2007, 07:53 PM
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Simplest and easiest answer is any Nissan Dealer. Ive done the same thing and its only about 7 bucks for all the hardware
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Old 08-23-2007, 08:23 PM
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i tried that they dont carry the part at least not rierside nissan
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Old 08-23-2007, 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by zstudent
i tried that they dont carry the part at least not rierside nissan
Should be a VERY common part... maybe talk to a different parts guy. I worked at Nissan, and actually bought new intake / exhaust studs there when I was rebuilding my motor. NAPA should also have them.
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Old 08-23-2007, 08:46 PM
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napa worked for me. they dont have stainless steel ones but if you have even one duplicate bolt/stud/nut take them to napa count how many u need they will get it for you in store usually.
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Old 08-23-2007, 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by zstudent
i tried that they dont carry the part at least not rierside nissan
I currently work for Nissan and I can tell you with confidence that they do have them and even if they dont stock they can get you the bolts in a day or two
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Old 08-23-2007, 09:08 PM
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crucial...
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Old 08-23-2007, 09:08 PM
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well then riverside nissan suck they guy told me that dont carry that part and that he didnt know of any dealership or autostore in the region that did...now i know never to go to them
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Old 08-23-2007, 09:21 PM
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ok Napa shows that they have it on there website so I am going to check them out tomorrow
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Old 08-23-2007, 09:28 PM
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in my experience, alot of the guys behing the parts desk dont know ****. the dealers know facts that you can read on a window sticker. and the tech's are smart but rip your *** off, but not their fault. me and my friend were at a mitsu dealership and the parts guys didnt know what a banjo bolt was let alone could tehy find one even though their brand new evo's all have them in their block and turbo's.... tards.
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Old 08-24-2007, 08:18 AM
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Originally Posted by snwbrderphat540
in my experience, alot of the guys behing the parts desk dont know ****. the dealers know facts that you can read on a window sticker. and the tech's are smart but rip your *** off, but not their fault. me and my friend were at a mitsu dealership and the parts guys didnt know what a banjo bolt was let alone could tehy find one even though their brand new evo's all have them in their block and turbo's.... tards.
I agree, dealer service quality on earlier Z's varies from location to location and time to time. 5 years ago our local Nissan dealer didn't want anything to do with a car older than 10 years. Now I go to the parts counter, same place, and they're super helpful and make me promise to bring my Z by when it's done. Just different staff and managers, but it made a big difference in this case.

That being said, zstudent, I wouldn't re-use the old studs/bolts even if you had them. I got all new hardware at a local old-school hardware store (McGuckin's Hardware) for installing my header and intake. They have a 60 to 80 foot long aisle stacked about 30 feet high with every kind of fastener known to humans. The sign at the end of it says "bolt canyon". You could build anything in there with enough time and money. Even though the old-style hardware stores are usually a little more expensive than Lowe's Depot or whatever, you'll actually find what you're looking for in hardware, you can check it in person to see if it's correct, and you can get it that day. For the manifold hardware, I still doubt I spent more than about $6 for the right studs and nuts. Anyway, might be easier than trying to convince your parts counter guy that he really can get the parts for you.

Oh, and take pics so we can all see how your motor's turning out.
Dave
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Old 08-24-2007, 10:26 AM
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http://www.freewebs.com/pallnet/products.htm

Get the Grade 10.9 stud kit. Way stronger than the factory studs and won't break the #6 exhaust manifold stud no matter how warped are your header flange or head...
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Old 08-24-2007, 08:20 PM
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until they strip out the aluminum head. id rather have the bolt break than have to helicoil it.
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Old 08-25-2007, 12:31 AM
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You're no fun. Actually, I have had to helicoil one before, but it was because the bolt broke and I couldn't drill it out clean enough to save the threads...
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Old 08-25-2007, 02:57 PM
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Helicoil = Hell

I've snapped 2 of those trying to get broken studs out... I use the square tapers now.
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Old 08-25-2007, 04:54 PM
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they break sometimes too, then i take the part to the machine shop for them to swear at!! ive had luck with helicoils, but ya still got to get the old bolt out.
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Old 09-10-2007, 07:44 AM
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Damn...worthless POS MSA exhaust gasket blew out after 2 months! I hate swapping these!
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Old 09-10-2007, 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Matt K
Damn...worthless POS MSA exhaust gasket blew out after 2 months! I hate swapping these!
Did you torque and re-torque them to spec??? They shouldn't fail if installed correctly.
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Old 09-11-2007, 04:58 PM
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You want to re-torque them after about a week as well. Most people don't realize, the majority of the torque used is absorbed by the bolt/nut/stud overcoming the friction in the threads.

The best way to torque these down is to use 50% of the torque recommended to snug the nut up and then increase the torque to 75%, then 100%. Do this to each nut in sequence at each torque setting.

Then come back a week later and torque it again once the gasket material has had a chance to "settle".
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Old 09-11-2007, 09:53 PM
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i use a stock fel-pro gasket on my msa header and never have had a problem, i have had a problem with msa's header gaskets.
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Old 09-11-2007, 10:55 PM
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i use felpro to... didnt retorque but im chaning it out again soon any ways so i dont give 2 *****
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Old 09-12-2007, 05:56 PM
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Originally Posted by NismoPick
Did you torque and re-torque them to spec??? They shouldn't fail if installed correctly.
Yes, 1 day after driving with it & a week later. The gasket is a POS, no metal core...I KNEW I should have bought a new OEM one...now I have the pleasure of taking everything apart again & re-doing it...
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Old 09-12-2007, 05:57 PM
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Call MSA and give them hell....
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Old 09-12-2007, 07:15 PM
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You can see clearly where it's leaking from. I really don't like pulling all that crap off, just to change a gasket!
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