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i've got two broken studs in my cylinder head from getting my exhaust manifolds off.. was reading a webpage on drilling studs and then using an "easy out" in the drilled hole to get the stud out.. what exactly is that? and do most hardware/tool places have those? or if anyone has a better method of getting broken studs out let me know.. one is deep in past the edge of the hole and one is stilling out about a centimeter..

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'88 bmw 535is
'98 honda civic ex

Most hardware stores do sell "Easy-outs." They are just a left-hand threaded screw. Get the biggest one you can, because I've had the little ones break off in the hole I drilled, at that point you are screwed because you just filled the stud with hardeded steel.

For the one that sticks out, people will sometimes weld the end of a bolt to the stud then wrench it out (it works pretty well).

Left hand thread drill bits are good for pilot holes for the easy out because they often will end up removing the stud for you.

Scott

another question.. what type of drill bits will i need for a standard stud? do i need titanium or will standard metal bits work?

dont have anything available to weld a bolt to the end of the stud so if the drill/easy out works for the other one i'll probably just dremel off the part of the stud sticking out and do the same thing to that one..

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'88 bmw 535is
'98 honda civic ex

Matthew,

You may want to do LOTS of research by talking to people experienced at taking broken manifold studs out of heads in order to get as many hints and gotcha's warnings as possible before you start the process. It is frequently really tough to 1) drill the hole in the stud without accidently slipping and drilling into the head and 2) keeping the easy out from breaking. Broken easy outs generally don't come out easily, if at all. There is a better product than easy outs, I forget the name but Sears may carry them now. Remember that if the stud "wanted" to be removed, it wouldn't have broken when you tried to get it out.

A couple of possible hints (I'm not an expert but I've removed a few broken studs over the years):

Use lots of Liquid Wrench first . . . and let it soak before attempting to remove the stud. If you can safely do so, vibration (i.e. tapping it with a hammer/punch) can help Liquid Wrench do its thing. WD 40 may work as well as Liquid Wrench . . . I've never tried it since I always have LW on hand.

If the head is aluminum, try heating it with something like a propane torch (don't ignite the Liquid Wrench ) Aluminum will expand more than the steel stud and may make the hole bigger so it has less "grip" on the stud.

If there is a "stub" of the stud available to grip with Vise Grips, try using them first. Certainly don't cut off a centimeter (almost half an inch) of stud first. Try the vise grip approach first.

If the stub isn't long enough to grab, it may be long enough that you can use your dremel tool to cut a screw driver slot.

If you do drill, be sure to centerpunch the stud first and start with a small pilot bit first. Scott's idea of a left hand drill bit sounds good to me. I didn't know they exist.

Finally, if the head is off the car (or will be), take it to a Pro like Dennis Shaw. Then watch the Pro if possible so you learn.

Worst case (hopefully) will be having to drill out the stud and then tapping and helicoiling the hole. This is another "learning experience" opportunity.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

The name of the fancy "easy out" I mentioned above is "Drill-Out Bolt Extractors". They are supposed to be very good.

Here is a link to a description:

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pdfs/093.pdf

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Cool... Also, note the left hand cutting drill bit wrapped into the product...

I second the motion for a centering punch and a pilot hole.

Another option for would be to just drill a hole down the center, tap it and use a slightly smaller stud (or one that uses different thread sizes on each end).

Scott

Scott,

If you can drill a stud and then tap it inside the minor diameter of the original threads I'll be very impressed. Especially assuming the stud is probably only about 1/4 inch. I would be impressed by the tap also. By the time this was done, the original stud would probably have such a thin wall that it would come right out.

By the way, the Sears tool catalog shows a bunch of drill-out, etc. choices.

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

This is so true! My vote is to stay away from those things. If it breaks off (and it likely will) you have very hard steel to drill out.

We had this happen on the Talon and ended up having to drill it all out and put in a heli-coil insert. It worked great, but that was on a thermostat cover.

Good luck!

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)