Broken head stud on #2 - Drive?
 

Dropped the engine out of my 1980 911SC Euro on the weekend to fix some common oil leaks. As soon as the engine was out, I removed the valve covers to check for broken head studs.

To my dismay, I discovered ONE single broken stud on cylinder #2. The broken stud is about 5 inches long, so it broke near the base. All of the other studs are tight.

Engine has about 188,000 km and has been running very well since I purchased it last year. I don't have the time to fix this right now, and I don't really want to pay a mechanic to do work that I can do over next winter.

Should I drive the car with this one broken stud?

Thanks in advance!

Safe motoring,

Tom

Also posted on 911 technical forum

Tom,

Drive it normally. I would not take it on the track. Don’t let it get too hot.

Keep an eye out for what appears as an oil leak between the bottom of the head and the cylinder. This is an indication of a compression leak. If you get that indication, recheck the studs there.

If you develop a compression leak, STOP driving and fix the problem. You probably have some time to gather all your ‘ducks’ and repair this correctly.

The good news is that you will have a fresh ‘valve job’ and later cylinder studs. Another 200K mi. is not out of the question.

Best,
Grady