i have decided to heatwrap my headers (aftermarket ones) but they have been there for so long id say 4years+the 2 bolts that hold it down have snapped on the way out due to corrosion . now i am unsure on what to do to remove the bolts that have snapped off inside! help please!
trader_84,
Jun 24, 8:53am
It depends on where they have snapped . is there a part of them sticking out . broken off flush . or broken down in the hole! How much room there is around the broken off bolt/stud plays a part also. What means have you got at your disposal! Whats your perseverance level like! What is your reliance on the vehicle! All these things play a part and influence how you end up going about things. I've done a heap of them and if there is one thing I can vouch for . anything you do to make the remaining thread still locked in the hole turn easier . is not wasted effort. The easiest way I have got stuff out is welding another bolt to the broken one - because I could. The hardest one would have been one where I broke the poxy 'Easy Out' in its guts and ended up having a piece of broken tool steel to go through, lol! Good luck!
dent,
Jun 24, 8:57am
Yup nothing like a hardened steel tool stuck in a broken exhaust stud to make ya day.
lazz323,
Jun 24, 9:09am
its snapped where my header bolts goes, it snapped pretty flush so it doesnt stick out at all, and cant really get a hold of a welder so that rules out that method haha, i heard it a hole in the centre and put in a tap set or something like that! damn would be real handy if u were local haha
bitsy_boffin,
Jun 24, 10:01am
You're talking about an Easy Out, aka Screw/Bolt Extractor
Essentially a tapered screw with a reverse thread, drill pilot hole, screw in the easy out, and in a perfect world once it bites the bolt unscrews.
In the real world, it's seldom that easy.
I'd be soaking it in CRC for a while to try and penetrate the threads before trying.
bellky,
Jun 24, 10:28am
Bit of a lesson for us all here if I may say.
Whenever I'm doing a job like that I take my time and don't wrench on nuts and bolts too hard - especially exhaust bolts that have been through so many heats cycles (brittle) and are corroded.
Best method is to take it slowly using CRC etc. If you feel like it's going to break stop, spray it and leave over night and try again.
Now you've got a real problem to fix which I'd say is going to involve drilling the old studs out and replacing with new ones.
kazbanz,
Jun 24, 11:10am
lazz--I'm getting two different mental images here. The first is that you are removeing the headers and the bolts have snapped off flush with the face of the headers. Or you have undone most of the bolts removed the headers and two bolts have broken off flush with the head. Its just that if its the first option your chances of an easy (ish) fix are pretty high.
tonyrockyhorror,
Jun 24, 11:20am
The simple fact that the taper on the eziout spreads the fastener in the thread, further tightening it, more often than not actual makes it more difficult to get it out.
The best method is like bellky says - liberal quantities of a penetrating oil BEFORE attempted removal and don't force it.
But once you've busted it off flush or below, a drill down the centre to the thread root diameter (that's the hole you'd drill before tapping) making sure you centrepunch the remaining fastener to centre the drill and, again, use lots of lubricant like ROCOL and not too much pressure so you don't bind the drill and bust that off in there instead of an eziout.
bellky,
Jun 24, 11:47am
Yip^, but personally I'd use a smaller diam. drill for a start (about half the diam. of the stud), because I've found that once the centre of the stud is drilled, the pressure is off and the stud can be turned out.
unbeatabull,
Jun 24, 12:08pm
Whereabouts are the studs!
In all honesty, if it was my car I'd just slap a whole lot of exhaust sealer on the gasket and bolt it up with what's remaining!
If they are flush off with the head, pretty much everyone has covered what you could do. I'd be drilling a small pilot hole then drilling to the size required for either the ezyout or tap depending which method you do. Remember to use lots of Rust Penetrant as well, not just standard CRC.
elect70,
Jun 24, 1:38pm
Exhaust studs rararely come out witheazy outs, if it snaps off in the hole yourscrewed , i usually wound up drilling & retapping the tread tolarger size& drillingheaderto fit .
tonyrockyhorror,
Jun 24, 2:20pm
Yeah, start with a smaller bit then work up if it hasn't loosened. By the time you get to the thread root diameter, it's effectively only a helicoil remaining of the original fastener. And if you can't get that out, a tap will do it very well, if it broke off below the surface and there's some thread to start it in.
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