Snapped exhaust mani stud...

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Ziggy
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Post Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:14 pm

Well taking my exhaust manifold off went quite well, didn't break any studs, but I did discover that one of them was already broken :cry:

It's (of course) the one closest to the bulkhead (bottom left), and has broken off about 1mm inside the head.

So what's best to do about it? I could try and get a drill / easyout on it but I think I'll struggle due to where it is...
What'll happen if the mani's just held on with 11 studs? Didn't seem to be a problem before (that wasn't the reason for taking it off!)...

Cheers :thumb:
E30 in need of wiring loom smoke since April '11...
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wildeian
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Post Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:25 pm

I had the same problem, but it was the top right stud so bit easier. Got a right angled drill bit and easy-out in there - f*ckin' easy-out twisted and bent on me!!! I was gonna take the head off to drill it out, then along came another engine, so I took the lot out!!

Being in such an difficult place I would say you're gonna be hard pushed to do it in situ.

I knew about my stud snapping and ran it for about a year with a little bit of exhaust paste, and no apparent problems.

Good luck!
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:29 pm

You'll never do it in situ. Hard enough with the engine out, and easyouts NEVER work.
If the broken end can't be welded to. I drill the stud slightly off centre, starting with a small drill, then working up untill I reach a size where the drill just breaks into the threads at one point. Then, with the help of a small pointed chisel, you can collapse the remains inwards slightly and then tease them anticlockwise to extract them.
This gives a bit of damage to the head on one side of the hole, but causes no problems in practice.
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jmc330i
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Post Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:17 pm

I had the top right stud snap on my M20 when the engine was in the car - I ran it for about a year with 11 studs and didnt have any probs - it didnt even blow.

Ive now got 3 snapped manifold studs (long story) on my M20 so Im going to be getting them out soon. All 3 are flush or just below the level of the head :cry:
The one thing on my side is that the engine is on my garage floor.

When you say 'easyouts', is that those things where you drill a hole into the stud and then hammer the 'easyout' into the stud?

Ive also heard of the left hand drill bit method. Anybody tried it??
James
'91 325i Sport
'93 318i touring 16v
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boomer
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Post Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:25 pm

Ziggy wrote:Well taking my exhaust manifold off went quite well, didn't break any studs, but I did discover that one of them was already broken :cry:

It's (of course) the one closest to the bulkhead (bottom left), and has broken off about 1mm inside the head.

So what's best to do about it? I could try and get a drill / easyout on it but I think I'll struggle due to where it is...
What'll happen if the mani's just held on with 11 studs? Didn't seem to be a problem before (that wasn't the reason for taking it off!)...

Cheers :thumb:
Dr. Holts fabulous Gun Gum is the answer - a squeeze either side of the gasket before replacing manifold, torque remaining bolts correctly, leave overnight and voila.......no blow.

Well it's worked for me - 2 snapped, bottom left nearest bulkhead and top right nearest rad.
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