Exhaust Stud Removal (Intact) In 1hr With Simple Tools - Pics!

[slow&rusty]

Hey Guys - A few days I made a post on removing my exhaust studs should I do it or not? It definitely struck a chord with you all as most of you responded leave them alone, let the sleeping dog lie etc etc. I was convinced after reading all your posts (and thanks to all that responded) that I was going to leave them all alone but I am always up for a challenge and wanted to flirt with danger....

Well I just removed all the studs in about an hour on my car, the only hiccup I had was trying to first use the double nut method which is definitely not the way to do it, in fact I snapped a stud flush in the head using this (conventional) method even with generous amount of MAP gas. Evidently with the very first stud snapped in the head and 11 more to go (I am not even going to describe the anxious feeling that consumed my frail feeling body!) it was time to rethink the strategy and work smarter, not harder (as my boss reminds me frequently...laughing).

Before using the double nut method, I tried a stud extractor socket that I bought off eBay for $26, and it was a pathetic piece of garbage, in fact it destroyed the stud shank so badly that I could only use the double nut method so please avoid this tool and method ( the tool is made by Neiko and it is a 5 piece set that comes in a plastic case!).

As we all know the studs are terribly brittle from heat cycling, weathered and welded to the heads from decades of road crud, moisture etc etc so reefing on them using the double nut method is asking for trouble.

I decided to venture down to my local tool store (Northern Tools) and picked up a good quality Bolt Extractor set made by Irwin ($30 for the set) and then I picked up a bottle of MAP gas from Home depot ($45 including the rose bud tip) and that was it. Harbor freight also make a bolt extractor but does not fit our 8mm studs very well so avoid using this (plus the quality does not seem as good as the Irwin tool).

The key with this removal is using an Impact Gun, I suspected it would work extremely well even though a few responded it be so powerful it would shear the stud off during the removal..that is not the case. If you do not own a 1/2" drive Impact Gun, please buy one, they are life savers and will quickly pay for themselves over and over, I have owned the same one since 1997 and it has been AMAZING! I have been preaching this for years and today my trusty impact saved the day..it was brilliant. The reverse hammer action of the impact combined with the heat of the MAP gas is the trick to getting the studs out.

After a solid heating of the head area around the stud with the MAP torch (not the stud itself as the heat will weaken it) use a hammer on the 8mm Bolt extractor until it as far into the stud as it will go (until it bottoms out). This conventional hammering action will also assist in breaking the threads free and assist with removal and at this point the bolt extractor has firmly grabbed / gripped the threads of the stud. After that hit it with the Impact and watch as the studs slowly back out intact. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

I know I am late to this Stud Removal party and many many of you have done this before on your adventures, but hopefully this thread will serve to assist others in the future.

By the way drilling and tapping the sheared / broken stud was not terrible (slow and took my time) but could have been avoided if I had the 8mm Bolt Extractor and Impact idea cued up a little earlier...oh well...lessons learnt.

On to the pics.

My 23 year old studs ready to put up a fight:




The operating table:


Irwin 8mm Bolt Extractor:


Impact loaded on with a 3/8 x 1/2 adapter on the impact and yes my car is equipped with the optional self oil changing option


All out, sigh of relieve breathed...




The one port where I drilled and tapped the head from the sheared / broken stud:


Happy weekend to all!!
Yasin

[James Brown]

good, good, good

[morrisjm1]

Good write up! Thank you!

I am curious why you felt compelled to replace them, the looked pretty good to me. Did you use any anti-seize goop on the new ones?

Mike

[Targalid]

Good job! Can you show the tool you used more clearly? You say it is driven onto the stud with a hammer? Also I see you must have had thermal reactors/smog pump on the car in the past as you have the exhaust air lines removed and replaced with hex head bolts. Where do the braided stainless lines go? Are you replacing with standard steel studs or something more exotic?

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by James Brown

good, good, good

Thanks JB I found some great older posts by you on this topic, so thank-you for your previous contributions. I appreciated some of your comments / posts on re-tapping and chasing threads (did that today with the broken stud)

Originally Posted by morrisjm1

Good write up! Thank you!

I am curious why you felt compelled to replace them, the looked pretty good to me. Did you use any anti-seize goop on the new ones?

Mike

You are right Mike, they were in decent shape (car has 60K miles)..I am sucker for punishment and can never leave good enough alone.

Originally Posted by Targalid

Good job! Can you show the tool you used more clearly? You say it is driven onto the stud with a hammer? Also I see you must have had thermal reactors/smog pump on the car in the past as you have the exhaust air lines removed and replaced with hex head bolts. Where do the braided stainless lines go? Are you replacing with standard steel studs or something more exotic?

Here is the tool I used:


Yes the car had a smog pump and air injection which I removed in 2005 when I first bought it. The braided lines are for the wastegate and oil return off the turbo which I made at home for the car. I am going back in with ARP studs and 12 point nuts ($145 for the set).

Regards - Yasin

[kz1911]

do u think something like this would work well? ive never owned one of them

1/2" Electric Impact Wrench Gun 0794685082696 | eBay

[$ Short]

Thanks for the info. Did check, and I have an 8mm Irwin extractor. I'll be going down this path soon and this is good info to know.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by kz1911

do u think something like this would work well? ive never owned one of them

1/2" Electric Impact Wrench Gun 0794685082696 | eBay

For about $20 more you can get a full set of pneumatic (4 tools) with all kind of accessory at Costco.

[slow&rusty]

KZ - Don't cheap out buy a good (brand name) impact, trust me not all tools are created equally (but you knew that).
Yasin

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

KZ - Don't cheap out buy a good (brand name) impact, trust me not all tools are created equally (but you knew that).
Yasin

Could not agree more.

Buy cheap, buy twice...

If I had the money, I would have all the tools that Porsche ever produce and all the one produce by Snap On tools before they were made in China.

So you need to spend your money where it count. I got this set from Costco for about $80, 8 years ago and its been working fine. This is not a precision tools and I use it for rough job like removing wheels or the exaulst studs when I "was in there". I used it to removed most of my exhaust studs with success.

I do not use it to put my fake Fuchs on the car. For that I use, like most of us a torque wrench. That is where you don't want to cheap out. For these car preferably you would want 3 torque wrench to covers the whole range.

I just replace my lower valves covers and put silicone gasket that call for a torque of 5 Newton. That is when you need more expensive tools. Don't know too many people that do those free hand.

Just my 2 penny, which we are no longer producing as they were costing over a cent per to produce...

[kz1911]

Nice, JJ, what brand is that?? as we know costco does not carry fancy name brands and yes it is true to a certain extent that name brands last but trust me even those brands have failed me when the cheaper models lasted longer, i think it's just better advertising and the hype. UNless they offer lifetime warranty then it wont make much sense to spend that extra $...if it doesnt fail within 30 days then you're most likely in good shape, just have to take care of the tools as well
Anyway, i was also curious would u prefer a, electric or one that uses compressor and if so would a small 5 gallon compressor be sufficient enough to get this job done??

[kz1911]

JJ this one seems good and has good reviews on amazon, seems like a good set, i might grab one soon

http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausfeld-TL1069-62-Piece-Pneumatic/dp/B0009KNA58/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1342317770&sr=1-6&keywords=4+piece+pneumatic

[JJ 911SC]

I would definitely go with air as you got more control. When I did my studs, I started it 10 Psi and increase it slowly. Plus once you got a compressor you can do other thing with it (nailer, spray gun, inflate your tire and so on).

Costco got a similar kit for $75 (either kit will do a lot of job). Also I buy my stuff with a AE Costco platinum card which give you a 90 days thef and accidental coverage (not just the stuff bought a Costco but everywhere as well. I just got a new Ipad after the wife drop it on the floor on the 85th days of the coverage.

Costco - Primefit 50-pc Air Tool Kit with Case

[slow&rusty]

Yes with air you have better control on an Impact....but as an FYI I have been using an Electric since 1997 with flawless service.

*Update* I have decided to insert a Time-sert where I had the broken stud in the head, after re-inspection late yesterday the new stud is too loose for the first 3-4 threads and I do not want to take any chances, it is unfortunate but not much I can do especially as these studs have hard lives.
Regards - Yasin

[JJ 911SC]

Yasin

Your adventure is exactly what I went through a couple years ago. It's not that bad (was my first tap ever) Help... Exaust Stud Drilling

You will need the 16mm insert (it has to be shorter than the depth of the hole). I got my Time-Sert kit for less then $75 at Amazon.

If you don't want to buy a kit, PM me.

[slow&rusty]

JJ - I actually read your time-sert thread several times and so glad you posted. Thanks.

I would love to borrow your kit, but by the time you make the time and mail it to me in Houston (shipping from Ottawa will be at least $10-$15) and I mail it back it back to you for a few bucks more I might as well go ahead and buy one and keep it for future use. I have a sneaky suspicion this kit will come in handy again...laughing.

I am a pretty decent wrench but the wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum has really made ownership of my car amazing and much easier.

Thank-you so much for the offer and your valuable contributions on this forum.

Happy weekend!
Yasin

[75_911]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

Hey Guys - A few days I made a post on removing my exhaust studs should I do it or not? It definitely struck a chord with you all as most of you responded leave them alone, let the sleeping dog lie etc etc. I was convinced after reading all your posts (and thanks to all that responded) that I was going to leave them all alone but I am always up for a challenge and wanted to flirt with danger....

Well I just removed all the studs in about an hour on my car, the only hiccup I had was trying to first use the double nut method which is definitely not the way to do it, in fact I snapped a stud flush in the head using this (conventional) method even with generous amount of MAP gas. Evidently with the very first stud snapped in the head and 11 more to go (I am not even going to describe the anxious feeling that consumed my frail feeling body!) it was time to rethink the strategy and work smarter, not harder (as my boss reminds me frequently...laughing).

Before using the double nut method, I tried a stud extractor socket that I bought off eBay for $26, and it was a pathetic piece of garbage, in fact it destroyed the stud shank so badly that I could only use the double nut method so please avoid this tool and method ( the tool is made by Neiko and it is a 5 piece set that comes in a plastic case!).

As we all know the studs are terribly brittle from heat cycling, weathered and welded to the heads from decades of road crud, moisture etc etc so reefing on them using the double nut method is asking for trouble.

I decided to venture down to my local tool store (Northern Tools) and picked up a good quality Bolt Extractor set made by Irwin ($30 for the set) and then I picked up a bottle of MAP gas from Home depot ($45 including the rose bud tip) and that was it. Harbor freight also make a bolt extractor but does not fit our 8mm studs very well so avoid using this (plus the quality does not seem as good as the Irwin tool).

The key with this removal is using an Impact Gun, I suspected it would work extremely well even though a few responded it be so powerful it would shear the stud off during the removal..that is not the case. If you do not own a 1/2" drive Impact Gun, please buy one, they are life savers and will quickly pay for themselves over and over, I have owned the same one since 1997 and it has been AMAZING! I have been preaching this for years and today my trusty impact saved the day..it was brilliant. The reverse hammer action of the impact combined with the heat of the MAP gas is the trick to getting the studs out.

After a solid heating of the head area around the stud with the MAP torch (not the stud itself as the heat will weaken it) use a hammer on the 8mm Bolt extractor until it as far into the stud as it will go (until it bottoms out). This conventional hammering action will also assist in breaking the threads free and assist with removal and at this point the bolt extractor has firmly grabbed / gripped the threads of the stud. After that hit it with the Impact and watch as the studs slowly back out intact. It is a beautiful sight to behold.

I know I am late to this Stud Removal party and many many of you have done this before on your adventures, but hopefully this thread will serve to assist others in the future.

By the way drilling and tapping the sheared / broken stud was not terrible (slow and took my time) but could have been avoided if I had the 8mm Bolt Extractor and Impact idea cued up a little earlier...oh well...lessons learnt

Happy weekend to all!!
Yasin

Great post Slow
Map gas ... not oxy-acetylene?
10 psi to start - does your impact wrench have various 'force' settings? I have a 3/8" and a 1/2" wrench and they both have degree of force settings.

PS anyone have an exhaust stud drill out tool that they are done with, willing to part with?

[kz1911]

ok where i am at we dont have costco but i see that the one u have only has about 250lb/tq, i want something with over 400lb/tq, ive seen several brands such as chicago pneumatic, hausfeld, etc for similar price
I also have an alternator pulley bolt which is very very stubborn and plan on using this to remove the bolt as i broke 2 pulley wrenches already, i've soaked it with PB blaster and it's still frozen, anyone try pneumatic tools to remove this bolt??

['76 911S 3.0]

Bumping this thread because I tried this technique today and it worked flawlessly! Thanks for the write up Yasin!

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by '76 911S 3.0

Bumping this thread because I tried this technique today and it worked flawlessly! Thanks for the write up Yasin!

My pleasure Jayson! Glad this thread continues to assist.

Always happy to help out.

My best,
Yasin