Exhaust Studs

[Big Den]

Has anyone had to remove rusty/broken studs from the heads, mine are shot and i am not willing to break any more easyouts (not so easy as it happens) i have been offered two options by my local dealer weld a nut on and hope the heat gets them moving or spark errosion which will mean removing the heads and all the extra costs associated. cheers

 

[Paul Young]

Dremel the rusted end off, flush with the head then drill down the centre of the stud. Use a tungsten carbide dremel bit to open up the hole until you reach the threads, then use a thread tap to clear out the swarf that's left.

I had to do 3 of the 4 on mine when I tried a different exhaust system on it & managed to rescue 2 of them this way. The other needed a helicoil fitting, so I bought a helicoil kit. Really easy to sort without disturbing the heads.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Has anyone had to remove rusty/broken studs from the heads, mine are shot and i am not willing to break any more easyouts (not so easy as it happens) i have been offered two options by my local dealer weld a nut on and hope the heat gets them moving or spark errosion which will mean removing the heads and all the extra costs associated. cheers

I've just endured this problem with my 2004 1150GS.
On removing the headers, 1 stud snapped. The other nuts came off ok.
With the headers removed, I found all but 1 of the studs were badly rusted.
I tried using 2 nuts, one to lock the other to no avail. I tried heating, spraying WD40 and re-heating several times.
I tried banging the studs to loosen the bond. This worked on one of the studs.
I bought 2 different types of grippy stud extractors, both too big to get onto the studs!
I welded a nut onto the studs and this only helped remove one of the remaining studs. The other 2, I ended up drilling out as suggested above.
One went straight down the middle of the stud, the other didn't, resulting in me having to use a Helicoil.
If you can remove the head and get them removed professionally, you will save yourself a lot of grief
Or, find someone local who has been through this before and has the tools and patience to do it with you.
I have replaced the studs with S/S ones and use brass nuts and spring washers now. Enormously satisfying to know I won't have that hassle again.

 

[davegs]

bolts

If you can access an arc welder (not a mig) type but proper welder with a high current settings put the earthing clamp on the head and a thick rod on the stud and hold in on until the stud gets red hot. Let it cool down and you will be able to take it out with ease, possibly with your fingers. And in response to all the out crys from arm chair mechanics this works every time but you will require a good welder, and air cooled diy type is NOT suitable.
Seen this done many times even on thread bound bolts and it works. Good idea to take off the head and take it to an engineering firm who will probably do it for nothing out of intrerest. Belive me it does work and is painless, unless you grab hold of the stud whilst it's hot!!.
Dave (Abba Fan) GS.

 

[Big Den]

Thanks guys i will try your suggestions, i would really like to avoide removing the heads. I do have a demel and a load of bits.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

And in response to all the out crys from arm chair mechanics this works every time but you will require a good welder, and air cooled diy type is NOT suitable.

I'll have U know I'm no armchair mechanic Mr Dave
You must mean the posts to come
I have a MIG, which didn't get my bits hot enough (oh err!) sadly
Good luck. Swear at them ... a lot. I found it helped

 

[Big Den]

Dave, done an ask about an my mate knows someone who builds chassis for stock cars so we will be paying him a visit, will let you know how i get on. I will also disconnet the ecu as presumably a lot of current gets passed through the chassis ?

 

[MattW]

If you can access an arc welder (not a mig) type but proper welder with a high current settings put the earthing clamp on the head and a thick rod on the stud and hold in on until the stud gets red hot. Let it cool down and you will be able to take it out with ease, possibly with your fingers. And in response to all the out crys from arm chair mechanics this works every time but you will require a good welder, and air cooled diy type is NOT suitable.
Seen this done many times even on thread bound bolts and it works. Good idea to take off the head and take it to an engineering firm who will probably do it for nothing out of intrerest. Belive me it does work and is painless, unless you grab hold of the stud whilst it's hot!!.
Dave (Abba Fan) GS.

Hi Dave,
I'm no armchair mechanic and I'm not disbelieving you for a second, but my engineering head can't help but ask what this heating does to the threads in the soft alloy head? The steel stud can take this heating with no problem (but it doesn't matter anyway as you're throwing it away), however I'd have thought that at the very least it would anneal the alloy of the head? Or do you drill oversize and use an insert / helicoil afterwards?

cheers
Matt

 

[davegs]

Studs

Matt. it doesent get hot enough to hurt anything and it always works several people I know have done it and always works fin and everthing has been fine since. ony very dull red or just black heat nothing that will damage the alloy, as I say people have done it never had a prob.
dabve gs.

 

[MattW]

Matt. it doesent get hot enough to hurt anything and it always works several people I know have done it and always works fin and everthing has been fine since. ony very dull red or just black heat nothing that will damage the alloy, as I say people have done it never had a prob.
dabve gs.

Cool, sounds a neat trick

As I say, not doubting you for a second - I guess I've always been a bit timid with bikes after a youth spent working on Jap bikes made of cheese

cheers
Matt

 

[ebbo]

If you can access an arc welder (not a mig) type but proper welder with a high current settings put the earthing clamp on the head and a thick rod on the stud and hold in on until the stud gets red hot. Let it cool down and you will be able to take it out with ease, possibly with your fingers. And in response to all the out crys from arm chair mechanics this works every time but you will require a good welder, and air cooled diy type is NOT suitable.
Seen this done many times even on thread bound bolts and it works. Good idea to take off the head and take it to an engineering firm who will probably do it for nothing out of intrerest. Belive me it does work and is painless, unless you grab hold of the stud whilst it's hot!!.
Dave (Abba Fan) GS.

I really do think this is a good idea, but I worry about the electronics, might be a good idea to disconnect the battery

 

[alimey4u2]

I really do think this is a good idea, but I worry about the electronics, might be a good idea to disconnect the battery

If you place the ground (earth) close to the stud there wouldn't be a problem with the battery or electronics. However, I understand your concern....

 

[ebbo]

If you place the ground (earth) close to the stud there wouldn't be a problem with the battery or electronics. However, I understand your concern....

No need to take unneccessary risks, just disconnect and everything will be

 

[alimey4u2]

No need to take unneccessary risks, just disconnect and everything will be

The risk is high current being passed by circuits unable to support the load & the effect of transients inducing excessive loads on delicate components. To reduce the risk, I would still connect the ground close to the stud...

However, upon re-evaluation, I agree with your statement...

 

[ebbo]

The risk is high current being passed by circuits unable to support the load & the effect of transients inducing excessive loads on delicate components. To reduce the risk, I would still connect the ground close to the stud...

succinctly put mate


You can bet If I tried it, I'd dab on the electrode, miss, and blow a hole in the head Ooops

 

[alimey4u2]

Digressing, I was installing a weighbridge in a conveyor in Tepic Mexico. To protect the delicate load cell bridge, I had a large sign made saying "NO soldar en este area" ( No welding in this area) & gave instructions to mount the sign on the conveyor. To my dismay, I caught the local fitters dragging an arc welding set to the location....