what to do now?exhaust stud question

[MARTIN AIDE]

Good Morning,I am taking off heat exchangers from a parts car to put on my 77 Driver side is down but pass sidelast hole up which has allen nut looks like the last person either didn't put the stud in far enough or torqued down to far on the nut because there is nothing to grab on to with the allen key and no room to work,early exchangers BTW,Any ideas?what would you do?Thanks in advance,Marty

[MARTIN AIDE]

Has no one had this problem come up?just a bump to the top for answers.Thanks,Marty

[Dan in Pasadena]

Martin, Post a picture and I am sure you will get more responses.

[Vipergrün]

Edit: Whoops, the following is for installing the HE's. I re-read that you are removing them.....

Make sure your allen wrench is squared off, not rounded. That will give it more of a chance to bite



Yes, a couple of options.

1. you can stack some washers under the barrel nut

2. you can use an 8mm coupling nut, which should use a 12mm or 13mm wrench

3. you can use an 8mm flange nut, which should use a 12mm or 13mm wrench


Since this is a barrel nut and you probably have a straight shot
at the stud, I'd go with #3. A socket "should" fit thru the hole in the HE.

[MURF]

WHEN I HAD THAT PROBLEM ..IBOUGHT 8MM ALLEN WRENCH FROM SEARS .CUT OFF THE BENT PART INSERTED IN ALLEN NUT AND MIG WELDED THE 8MM TOOL TO THE NUT..REMOVED WITH SOCKET ON 8MM END....ONLY WAY TO ACCESS!!

[MARTIN AIDE]

Thanks Brad andMurf,how did you gain access to the nut for the weld?Brad,yesterday when I was trying to do this I was using a rounded and I now have a flat 8 mm so I will try this tonight,the problem is the stud comes to far up inside the nut if that makes sense without pics and you can only get on it straight up trough the tunnel,anyway wish me luck, Thanks,Marty

[JP911]

I know it's really tight in there and this is a long shot, but here's an idea:
Sears (and probably other companies) make a tool for removing stripped nuts. The have teeth inside them and you hammer them onto the stripped nut and then use a wrench over the "remover" to remove the fastener. This tool also works over allens and I used it to remove stripped CV bolts. Give it a try!

[vash]

if somebody tightened it, you should have enough bite to loosen it. jon's idea is great, but i admit, i dont remember one big enough for that job. if there is, it will be cake. i did one once with a T-handle allen, from sears. the handle let me really push into the job.

[2.7RACER]

This is a tough one. Can you get in there with a drill? My thought is to carefully, with a sharp 1/8th/3/16th bit drill into the stud. It is important to drill as carefully to the center as possible. If you can just drill in a little with the small drills, then go for a larger one until you have effectively removed enough of the stud that you can get into the barrel nut with your nice squared off 3/8" drive allen wrench.
Depending on the condition of the barrel nut you may want to push up the 3/8" ratchet, extension, and 3/8 drive allen with a small jack.
Use the motor weight to loosen the barrel nut.
The key here is to drill carefully with a sharp, good quality bit. Then use a new or squared off allen.
If the barrel nut is in bad shape you may be able to force a SAE allen into the barrel nut.
Good luck!

[MARTIN AIDE]

Good news,when I tried the flat allen there was just enough to grab on to so it was a piece of cake after 4 hours of frustration.moral of story is USE THE RIGHT TOOL,TOOL,Marty

[Vipergrün]

Right on man! You can follow my other suggestions if you cannot get the stud in any further in installation

-Brad