flush broken head stud removal the EZ way

[boosted79]

Rebuilding a '76 Turbo, had three of these to deal with. Made stainless sleeves that fit over the studs. Start building up inside the sleeve with MIG, run it HOT, 180A with .030. Quick bursts to keep from getting too hot and the weld puddle slumping. Keep building it up, weld on a nut, heat with the OA and back it out. The sleeve protects the cylinder shoulder and keeps the puddle inside as long as you don't stay on the trigger too long.

[rwest]

Nice!

[Flat6pac]

Excellent...
Bruce

[mikedsilva]

very very good

[boosted79]

Hopefully this saves some people some machine shop time assuming they have a mig. I made the sleeves from a piece of SS round I had, some SS tube might work. I did a couple practice runs with a broken stud and the sleeves in the vise to get the mig technique down to avoid melting thru the sleeve wall. If that happens then you have to grind it down so it doesn't hit the case shoulder when the stud is backed out. But you want good fusion immediately when you hit the trigger thus the 180A. The trigger timing is critical when running that hot. I used SS because it has a higher melting point vs. carbon. This engine had like 18 broken studs, it must have seen some winter salt. The two black studs in this pic are off a Cummins, I was looking at tigging a piece on but this is so much easier.

[cgarr]

How easy did it come out?

[boosted79]

No problem, even with MAPP. I had one stud that would not budge with MAPP so I used the OA on that one but it was still a PITA. I use the same back and forth as running in a tap, that def. helps. There is no shortage of fun on this engine, I had to use the OA to cut all the exh. studs to get the reactors off.

[MarkWard]

Boosted 79, Nice solution. I have a 1980 with 10 broken lower head studs. I believe the material is a Dilavar compound. The studs don't pass the magnet test. The above studs from the 76 turbo appear to be another material. I have broken studs to experiment welding on and was intending to TIG weld to keep the spatter down and the case together. I do have a MIG with mild steel wire.

Researching what "rod filler" material to use with the dilavar studs? Am I over thinking this? One last question. Would copper tube work for a sleeve or are you counting on building up the weld and it bonding to the stainless sleeve before welding the nut on? Most of the internet information seems to cover replacing studs that aren't broken flush with the case. thank you for posting this up. Mark

[RobFrost]

I think copper wouldn't work because judging by the pictures this method relies on the sleeve becoming part of the final bolt.

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

[stownsen914]

Nice work. I've used a similar technique to remove broken studs a few times (not in a crankcase though).

Couple q's -
Were these dilivar studs?
Which MIG wire did you use?

[Old H2S]

The first weld on the stud is the most important for making a strong connection to the broken part and MIG welding is notorious for "cold" and weak welds at the start so always preheat the broken spot with a torch to get the best strength.

[MarkWard]

Was able to remove all the studs using heat from my Oxy Acetylene torch. Heating case area to around 250 F, using candle wax as a lubricant and my Hazet stud remover. For the non broken ones my 10 mm remover worked fine. For the snapped ones I used the 8mm tool down on the shank of the stud. For the stud broken too short for my stud extractor and the one snapped flush, we used our Tig welder.

In both cases, we took and old removed broken stud and ground the end to a point. Using the tig we were able to weld the broken stud to the short snapped off stud with mild steel filler rod. For the one broken off just below the deck, we welded up the stud till it was above the deck enough that we could weld the stud section to give the extractor something round to bite on. No sleeves were required and the Tig kept it very neat. What's odd is the case still needed heating even after welding to free those studs from the case threads.

So, I'm very pleased to have all 24 studs removed. Next step is to decide what studs to install for the build up. Thank you. Mark