Exhaust stud woes, What's the next step? Options

[saigon71]

Nothing is ever easy on these cars...

My heat exhangers got some oil in them from the bad oil cooler seals, so I decided to pull them for a good cleaning. One exhaust nut was really difficult to remove. Once I finally got it off, I saw that the threads were galled.

Ordered some new exhaust studs.

Went to work removing the old one after researching 914 world.

Heated stud boss with MAP torch & sprayed a bunch of PB blaster.

Welded a nut on the end...nut kept breaking loose without budging the stud, removing small portions off the top of the stud during the six attempts.

Then welded a bar to the remainder of the stud and used an adjustable wrench for leverage. Heat & PB Blaster, working it a little at a time, back & forth. It finally broke free. Reheat & apply more PB. On about the 5th cycle, the stud broke off below the level of the head.

Engine is in the car & I'd like to keep it that way. What are my best options for getting this thing out now...and installing a new stud?

I've had horrible luck with EZ-outs on other applications.

Thanks!

[relentless]

The stud is broken off below the level of the head, so good luck grinding that flat.

If you can find a piece of tubing the exact OD of the hole you can center a punch that just fits the ID, but good luck finding one with those specs. You might be able to have a machine shop machine a piece of old stud with a perfectly centered hole, and if you could get that held perfectly aligned you *might* be able to drill it out. I've used that technique before but always used a stud extraction device.

I'm surprised you didn't try the 50-50 acetone/ATF mix, as it works better than any penetrating fluid you can purchase. I sometimes soak fasteners for a week or two before I even try to extract them, and of course heat is your friend.

Good luck!