I got the manifolds off but had to cut one of the nuts off with a grinder. A few studs are still stuck in the head so I ordered an extractor from Amazon to try and get them out. It's going to be a great car when it's all finished but it's been sitting/rotting for 12 years so just about everything made of rubber needs replacement. There's a little bit of rust on the body (battery box, rocker panel) but it's not bad enough to make it a parts car. Plus it was free!
I'm going to attempt to get the brake calipers and rotors off this weekend and I will be impressed if the m12 stubby gets them off with the amount of rust. I broke a snap on socket trying to remove one of the front wheel lugs. I was disappointed when the mid torque wouldn't break it free but I'm guessing I put close to 1000 ft lbs on that breaker bar to get the lug off. This car is leaking so many different fluids that it's actually rust proofed a lot of the car... Those Germans are so forward thinking!
Anyway the m12 has been a work horse on this project so far. It zipped off all drive shaft nuts/bolt, all engine fasteners when I replaced the timing belt and water pump, and most of the wheel lugs. Very impressive. It also did extremely well with the exhaust manifold nuts. The Sunex 3351 with wobble sockets has been a life saver for a few bolts. Very impressed with the set especially for the ~$100 price tag.
What do you have planned for your 325iX? I was just on another forum and was shocked to hear what OEM front axles go for on those!
