• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

how to remove stuck exhaust manifold stud??

thelostartof

unbalanced chemical
300+ Club
Joined
Jun 26, 2002
Location
Apache Junction, AZ
well being that i need to remove and replace two busted exhaust manifold studs on the motor/head that's sitting in my 91'. i'm having a hell of a time trying to get the first one out

so what are some tricks to remove them? figure turbo car so they have been heated up a lot and what not ... i've tryed some liquid wrench and a pair of vise grips to try to grab onto it and turn but all i do is spin around the bolt ...

i've tryed threading on a nut till it gets tight but the nut just strips its threads as it gets to the middle part of the stud and what not ...

so should i try to thread a nut on and then weld it on and THEN try to break it loose??

what else can i do??? this is driving me crazy and slowing down my motor from running again.(well besides the fact that my ported exhaust manifold and turbine housing are still not here yet)

thanks
mike
 
I have been looking for an answer to a similar problem. I had to cut the bold off holding the turbo on and now can’t figure out how I’m going to get the stud out. Sorry not trying to hijack the thread but looking for a similar solution.
 
If you've got 1/2-3/4 sticking out.. Go down to ace and get the smallest pipe wrench you can. I tried filing mine down to 6m square on two sides and broke an open end on it before someone suggested this. The clutch style socket extracters work great but not once you've filed.
 
I've seen my dad throw one in the oven, heat it up to 500 or so degrees and then use a left hand bit and stud extractor to get one that was too shallow to grab on to. Stunk up the house pretty good though
 
The double nut trick works well if you have enough good thread. Put two nuts on and tighten them together, then using a wrench on the bottom nut, remove. Also, pounding on the end of the stud with a couple hard raps from a hammer can help. Welding a nut works good, but you don't want the stud hot when extracting.
 
The double nut trick works well if you have enough good thread. Put two nuts on and tighten them together, then using a wrench on the bottom nut, remove. Also, pounding on the end of the stud with a couple hard raps from a hammer can help. Welding a nut works good, but you don't want the stud hot when extracting.

Ive always done the double nut trick unless its broke off or threads are too damaged to thread them on.
 
Small pipe wrench worked great for me when I had about 3/8in sticking out. The vice grips just wouldn't grab it tight enough, but the pipe wrench gets tighter, the harder you pull.
 
I try this algorithm in steps until it comes out.

01. Double nuts.
02. PB Blast Aluminum-Steel interface.
03. Smack with hammer along axis.
04. PB Blast Aluminum-Steel interface.
05. Gentle perpendicular smacks of end of stud in six directions of nut faces.
06. PB Blast Aluminum-Steel interface.
07. Gentle use of a little slide hammer to create reverse effect of step 3.
08. PB Blast Aluminum-Steel interface.
09. Try to tighten it a little bit (this trick has worked so many times!)
10. PB Blast Aluminum-Steel interface.
11. Heat the stud red with MAPP gas torch, quench with PBBlaster from fridge.
12. Wipe burned eyebrows off, paint on new eyebrows, no one will notice.
13. Six point socket or wrench, give a few taps on far end in both CW and CCW.
14. Heat entire head in stove with crappy wrench on the nut, ice the stud while putting gentle torque on it, and out she comes.

Trust me, I got this real cool sword out of this rock in England this way.
my favorite trick is the tightening it a little before trying to back it out.
 
Harbor freight sells a stud extraction tool that tightens against stud as you back it out. I used it many times in the jy
 
Harbor freight sells a stud extraction tool that tightens against stud as you back it out. I used it many times in the jy

I literally just got back from harbor freight looking for that very tool, they no longer carry it, at least not around here. I have a stud in my turbine housing that threads out to a certain point and then siezes up solidly.I've been incredibly lucky in all of my years working on cars and have never encountered a siezed bolt, nut or stud. My luck just ran out.
 
Now and again you can find a rocking deal on an old stick welder. Look on craigslist. I got my big heavy death trap of a welder (220v) for under 100 USD. This has been the best extraction tool i have ever used. If you do or plan on doing all your own work the welder is the answer for many a problem.
 
If you do weld a nut on it, be careful removing it...I had a nut welded on a broken stud in my turbine housing, and instead of coming loose, it sheared the stud off inside the housing. Then it had to be drilled out, sacrificing 3-4 drill bits before the shop guy found something strong enough.
 
The welding method is the way to go. Especially with an aluminum head. It gets them loose even when they are broken below the surface. If they are above the surface. The welding breaks the hold the aluminum has on the steel.

Sadly the welding method isn't always the best for a cast iron head since they are basically the same metal. Drilling and tapping usually is what I end up doing on the cast iron.
 
I'm with Dave on not welding on them if the stud is broke below the surface. However if even a smidgen of the stud sticks up above you can take a nut and lay it on the top of the stud then take some 6011 set it jsut a tad to hot and fill the inside of the nut. I like this because 6011 really penetrates. the down side is you get one shot and you have to be quick. You cant pot around or it will weld it to the cast iron. The good news is most the time it will break free of the cast.

However if i can get it to even bite on one thread of the stud ill use 7014 and take my time getting it solid.

It gets even easier if you have aluminum head. It takes some skill to get any electrode (stick) even an aluminum one to bind to aluminum. This is because aluminum oxidize so fast you cant rally weld it with out an alternating tig welder. So you can take your time on a steel stud in an aluminum head you be hard pressed to weld it too.

I am no welding pro ive only been dong it for less than a year but I love it. Its really not too hard to figure out.
 
I routinely use the weld method as a first resort on both materials, below the surface or not:e-shrug:

edit;
steel in iron
DVC00669.jpg
 
Last edited:
That's good that it works well on cast iron. I really felt cautious about welding to a stud and having it get stuck to the head. I've used the welding method myself for removing two studs that broke below the surface on the turbo 240 head. The trick is to take your time and spot weld a few minutes apart. Let it cool off between spot welds. Build up enough to grab with the vise grips. Worked great, both pieces both unscrewed easily. I still had to timesert the threads though. They were buggered up but with the broken stud pieces gone it was much easier to put in the timeserts as well.
 
Back
Top