Drilling out exhaust studs, yahoo

Paul Valcourt · 01-15-2003, 04:09 PM

I decided it was time to fix my heat and all the oil leaks so I removed my exhaust and broke a few studs in the process. I then dropped the engine/trans, power washed then separated them. The job of removing the broken studs and replacing all the other studs looked like it would be somthing I would screw up and end up replacing my heads. I contacted a local engine machine shop and told him I had an air cooled motor with broken exhaust studs, he said to dismantle it and bring the heads in. Then asked what type of motor, when he heard Porsche the response was don't bother, wouldn't touch it for anything. Pretty well all the other shops responded the same and my anxiety was growing. I grabbed the bull by the horns and set to drill them out myself and surprisingly they came out pretty easy after I took the time to ensure the bit was centered and staight. The other studs came out easy after I mig welded a nut to them, now the other task of fixing oil leaks and upgrading tensioners doesn't look too bad.

Now its beer time before the next task.

rcwaldo · 01-15-2003, 06:05 PM

job well done. The replacement studs are like .78 cents each. How ironic.

Good job!

Chris

Jim Sims · 01-15-2003, 06:37 PM

Congrats! You must "living right!" Cheers, Jim

yelcab1 · 01-15-2003, 07:39 PM

VW is what they expect. The head is cheap.

Porsche heads are much much more expensive and they all need to match up, so you actually have to bring in all 6 heads. Then, top that off, Porsche owners tend to be more picky and therefore ... a $50 job can turn into a $5000 repair job for them. A total losing proposition.