Exhaust Studs Broken.., need suggestions. Options

[DougC]

OK, I have 3 broken exhaust studs on my 2.7 six. All but these three came out easily but these 3 were never going to move! I spray (for several days) with PB blaster, used a torch and nothing worked. Finally I bent one on purpose because I was at my wit's end and eventually broke it. I went ahead and cut the other two off in preparation for drilling. I have drilled out the originally broken one and tried using an "ease-out" but no luck (of course). I'm at the point where I can actually tap the hole for the original thread size. What size tap do I need to buy?

Doug C

[ArtechnikA]

QUOTE (DougC @ Aug 9 2005, 04:34 PM)

I thought at this point I could just try tapping the hole since I'm already at a point that is close to the stock stud size.. ... The inside of the hole just looks like smooth metal

ok, cool.

first - another question, no response required:
smooth *what kind* of metal? does it look like you are looking at a steel sleeve, or an aluminum hole. i can't describe the difference in metal colors but i know you can see it...

if you're *sure* you've simply cored the steel, a left-handed drill - possibly operated by hand - might just grab the remains and pull them out. once the middle of a threaded fastener is removed there's nothing to tension the threads... or pretty gently, use a screw extractor. NOT a square "EZ-out" - those are pretty useless. screw extractors look like left-hand threaded VERY coarse spiral auger bits, and they're somewhat conical. those should grab the core and let you extract it without wedging it in harder like the square ones do.

or you can try gently running in a tap. with luck, you'll simply cut away the steel bits still left in the original threads.

the fact that an 8mm stud won't slip into the hole you've made is a good sign.