Really off the wall Head Stud question

Ok, this is far stretched but...

Would it be even remotely possible to remove the broken stud without disassembling the engine?
Here's my idea:
The broken one is the stud closest to the transmission on the bottom of my #6 cylinder.
Since it snapped about 1 1/2" down from the nut would it be possible to clean the area near the stud on the case, gently use a torch
to heat the loctite holding the stud then try and use Vise Grips or something to unscrew it? For some reason I was thinking there is an area that the stud is exposed between the case and the cylinder cooling fins.
Like I said this idea just came to me and is really off the wall but I was just trying to think of a way of temporarily stopping my head from flapping around so I can drive it until I save up enough money for a rebuild to repair the damage already done.

What I need to know is if there is enough room to even attempt this from someone that is familiar with the engine and what I would have to work with and if it would even be possible to loosen a stud from the sides instead of using a stud remover or something.

Ideas?

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Leland Pate

___79 SC Targa

I was just looking at some pics I took of my engine when it was apart and it appears the stud is not exposed. It goes through the cam housing and then through the cylinder jug. There are no exposed areas to grab it. (78 911 3.0) Good idea though.

Regards


Steve

Damn.


Thanks, Steve

Lee,

All may NOT be hopeless, yet ...take a look at Bruce's 'Handbook' pages 121-122. There is a gap between the fins on the cylinder and the crankcase where a vicegrip plier 'could get a bite' of the stud!!! But, there are a few NON-TRIVIAL items you would have to remove from the engine to get at it!!!

1. CIS system down to the bare cylinder head
2. Fiberglass upper cooling shroud
3. Fopward-most Air deflector for cyl. # 6
4. Oil cooler -- maybe ???

You might want to think about this a while before deciding to try it! If you decide to try it, send me your mailing address by email, and I'll send you some spare seals for the oil cooler. And, of course you would need a new Dilivar stud to replace the broken one ... to be 'thermally' compatible with the rest of the bottom row of studs.


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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

I have seen a tool called a 'stud puller' before. It looks like a deep socket with a cam inside. That might help you...

It has been done successfully.

Leland,

I work with aircraft and we have various ways of getting studs out when they break. Aircraft engines are a bit more expensive to pull out and apart than car stuff and so the tools tend to be a bit more exotic.

That said, I have several (three or four) types of stud pullers... one that grips the outside of the stud and as you turn the breaker bar it grips tighter on the stud and usually pulls it out. If you have enough meat on to grip onto, it usually works fine.

The others are mostly of the "drill a hole inside the broken stud" and then insert it in and slowly turn it with a breaker bar.

With heat we usually get them out as well as tapping the stud after heat on the head (tapping, hot wailing away on it) to try to get the threads to "unseal" themselves.

I would go to various tool places, Snap On, Matco, Proto, MAC etc and see what they have. If you want to take a look at the ones I have (esp the gripper type) email me and I will send you a pic. Might even loan it to you for a cold one if you cannot find one where you live... I am still unpacking my stuff after living in Europe and the ME for 11 years but believe that its somewhere in my boxes of spares.

Its worth a try as it would buy you time to do this at your leasure and when you have prepared for it, both financially and with your workspace and parts. An engine is a nice fall or winter project, and doing one when you are rushed is never the best option for me.

Good Luck,

JoeA

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How far down is it broken off?

I'm just wondering if you could weld it out. I work in a Cat dealership (www.kramerltd.com) and when bolts break off below the surface we often weld them out. I'm not sure how the weld would take to the dilavar studs but it works excellent for normal bolts. The welders use a special blue welding rod to build the bolt up out of the hole and then weld on a bolt to turn it out. They sometimes use a thin metal tube to prevent getting splatter in the bores and on the threads. The rods are a special metal and are very expensive but most welding shops should have them. This might sound quite crude but it works on any size bolt from 1/4" to 1 1/4". It is very quik too. I don't know how it would work in this situation but I think its worth checking out.

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'76 911S

'80 924 M471

After looking at my books it appears that the cooling shrouds can only come off after the heads are removed...is this the case? If so it would defeat the purpose of the idea.

77 911s...you said that it has been done?
Can you give me any specifics?

Thanks guys,