Oh boy. Today was a GREAT day people! I finally removed the broken exhaust header stud from the head WITHOUT having to take the head OFF!!

I am on cloud 9 right now!! I bought a small special drill at Harbor freight for 30 bucks. It's a life saver!!! CHECK THIS OUUUUT!!!

I never thought it could be done but with a little help and a little patience it came RIGHT OUT. I was skeptical when I put in the EZ out bit. But once it took a bite and started turning I KNEW it was coming. AND HOLY CRAP it came OUT! WOOO!!!! I didn't even ruin the THREADS!!

The pictures do not show what it looked like when I started. There WAS NO STUD SHOWING at all when I started. It snapped off about 2MM inside the head. These pics show when I had managed to get it most of the way out.

 

kool, nice drill, still must been really tight.

 

You got lucky, that stud must have snapped from being heat fatigued, and probably wasn't "stuck".
A sound bolt that's seized in the hole and snaps when trying to back it out, isn't going to come out with an easy-out.

 

Great job and thanks for the pictures!

 

I wouldve tac welded a bolt to the part where it snapped off and wrenched it out :P those easy out bits are hit or miss

 

I would have done something similar, however this broken bolt was INSIDE the head (No part of this broken bolt was sticking out of the head. It was about 2 MM inside the head snapped off). I had to drill it out with some really strong bits just to get this EZ out in.

 

Really good job getting that out of there. Those hardened studs can be a real B. Not ruining the threads in the head probably took some concentration on centering the drill on that stud.

 

Thanks a lot. I was so relieved that it came out. I was literally jumping up and down. Got lucky on the threads still being good. This was all eyeballed, I went in at just the right angle. I am just glad I didn't have to take the head off!

 

Back when I was a mechanic we use to get broken exhaust bolts all the time. Even muffler shops use to bring them to us because we had the "right equipment" to do it. 90% of the time the right equipment was a left hand drill and a good easy out. As a general rule the threads are not messed up unless a human messed then up.

If I had to guess I have done 40-50 of these in 6 years. Probably half of those came out without using the extractor, just the left hand drill bit. I can remember a total of 3 times the head had to be removed and taken to the drill press. That assumes a human has not messed it up. Every time I have had to install a thread repair kit the car came to us with someone already attempted to fix it or the bolt was cross threaded when installed.

Do not skimp on the drill or extractor. You want a US made cobalt left had drill and a Irwin extractor. The Irwin kits are fine. Last thing you want to deal with is a broken extractor. The cheap ones will have a 60 Rw"c" case hardness and it will need to be burned out with a EDM process. Many automotive machine shops would have to send that job out to a larger shop. I am not saying the chepos can't work you just need to understand you are rolling the dice and if you lose it could cost you big. (before any machinist chime in I know it is possible for a carbide drill in a milling machine but again, risk)

I am sure you can find this cheaper, I get a deep discount from these guys cause I buy about 20k a year from them on my company card.
http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/05083811

I am not a mechanic anymore but I have been waiting for a reason to try one of these.
http://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/05027164

Edit: Just remembered, I always forget to mention the first step. Putting a small center point in the broken bolt/stud. This is done with a automatic center punch so a hammer is not needed.
http://www.harborfreight.com/spring-...punch-621.html

 

[QUOTE=Gorn;706966]Back when I was a mechanic we use to get broken exhaust bolts all the time. Even muffler shops use to bring them to us because we had the "right equipment" to do it. 90% of the time the right equipment was a left hand drill and a good easy out. As a general rule the threads are not messed up unless a human messed then up.

If I had to guess I have done 40-50 of these in 6 years. Probably half of those came out without using the extractor, just the left hand drill bit. I can remember a total of 3 times the head had to be removed and taken to the drill press. That assumes a human has not messed it up. Every time I have had to install a thread repair kit the car came to us with someone already attempted to fix it or the bolt was cross threaded when installed.

Do not skimp on the drill or extractor. You want a US made cobalt left had drill and a Irwin extractor. The Irwin kits are fine. Last thing you want to deal with is a broken extractor. The cheap ones will have a 60 Rw"c" case hardness and it will need to be burned out with a EDM process. Many automotive machine shops would have to send that job out to a larger shop. I am not saying the chepos can't work you just need to understand you are rolling the dice and if you lose it could cost you big. (before any machinist chime in I know it is possible for a carbide drill in a milling machine but again, risk)

I am sure you can find this cheaper, I get a deep discount from these guys cause I buy about 20k a year from them on my company card.
Bolt Extractor Sets | MSCDirect.com

I am not a mechanic anymore but I have been waiting for a reason to try one of these.
Bolt & Screw Extractors | MSCDirect.com

Edit: Just remembered, I always forget to mention the first step. Putting a small center point in the broken bolt/stud. This is done with a automatic center punch so a hammer is not needed.
Center Punch - Automatic Center Punch with Brass Handle[/

i have the same situation here with my 93, my question is should i take it to a shop to get it fixed or should i try myself? iam definetly no mechanic and ive never used and ez out. how much would this fix cost at a shop?