Stud puller/extractor?

[lapoltba]

So I'm trying to get one of the studs off of the exhaust manifold. The ones that hold the downpipe on....

The double nut deal didn't work and I stopped for fear of breaking the stud and making things worse.  I got one of those cam type 1/2" drive deals and I can't get enough torque, or a good enough grip on the stud to remove it.  It also destroyed what was left of the threads in the process.

Has anyone had any success using one of those roller clutch socket type extractors?  I guess I don't have any other options at the moment.  I will try a little heat tomorrow before I go buy something else.  I didn't want to today because I had a bunch of PB blaster and WD up there and didn't want to burn my house down.

[GRONK]

The "roller clutch socket type extractors" are all I use to remove studs.  They work fantastic and are inexpensive.  I own 4-5 of them and keep them handy because I'm always stuck and need it.  I think they are only like $12 too.

[lapoltba]

Yeah, I think advance auto has them for about that price.  I'll probably stop tomorrow and pick one up.  Seems like it should work better than the cam type I got.  How tall are they exactly?  I need to use a swivel on it and there isn't much room to work with.

Those roller type clutches are the same thing as the starter clutch in the motorcycle I had.  Basically 3 smooth rollers that taper locked onto a smooth center hub.  I suppose it must work as well on rusty bolts. 

[greymarooneightytwo]

I've got a set of something similar to these

they work really well if you have the room to give it a firm tap with a small hammer. I got them to remove the carb mount studs from my intake manifold.

One tap, then counterclockwise with the wrench and they came right out... like butter.

I should mention, this is only viable if you don't plan on needing the studs afterwards, because this pretty much destroys them.

Is the manifold aluminum? Careful with heat if so.

(To Gronk, I tried the trick with two nuts first.. worked on one, the rest of them kept stripping, nuts were too soft. Soaking with WD/PB didn't help, and vise grips just slipped... by the way, aside from feeling like it needs a bit more tuning, and being a little rough on cold starts (below 0) my bird is running great)

[lapoltba]

I have a set of those and the work wonders on stripped hex bolts for sure.  I bought the cheapie set from Harbor FrIght and they have saved my butt more than a few times now.  Absolutely worth the $10 I spend on them.  The ones I have just barely go small enough but won't work for the exhaust studs.   The exhaust is the stock 258 cast iron deal.  Studs are ~1.5"  out of the flange, and using one of those will surely snap it even quicker than the double nutting. 

What I see as a benefit with the roller cam type is it engages a larger length of stud reducing the bending load and risk of breaking it off.

[eaglefreek]

I will try a little heat tomorrow before I go buy something else.  

What's your definition of a little heat? One of those small propane torches most likely won't do the job. You may need a real torch to do the trick.

[lapoltba]

Heh, well propane was going to be it, but I didn't have much hope in it.  In my experience the bolt/stud needs to be nearly red hot for it to make a difference.  The extractor is what i'm banking on.

[eagleman]

I believe if you heat the bolt or stud in this case you are heating the wrong part. Heat the area around the stud till it turns a cherry red then remove the stud with the stud removing tool.

[BenM]

The first time I tried I broke one off and had to drill it out. The second time I got more serious. I got the biggest tip I could find for an oxy-acetelene torch and brought the whole ear of the manifold to a dull red before the sucker would move with a pair of vice grips.

I fear those are the only two ways to do this. If you have access, I'd put the manifold in an oven and bring it up as hot as I could, pull it out and secure it in a vice then bring the area around the studs up to at least a dull red. (Saves torch time this way.) Even without an torch the oven time may help expand everything. Some heat is better than none.

Wear jeans and long sleeves when you do this, no synthetics - wool or cotton only.

It may be helpful to try and find the back of the stud and hit it with a center punch to break the rust.

[lapoltba]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm trying to do this without removing the manifold from the car.  The head was just rebuilt and I don't really want to have to drain the coolant and take everything apart again.

Going to try the autozone stud extractor set and maybe some heat.   The front stud came out with the nut, so hopefully this one will come out too.

[txjeeptx]

You're wanting to remove the downpipe studs, right? I know they are not studs on the 4.o "headers", they are a splined bolt more akin to a wheel stud. Same thing on my AMC 2.5's cast iron exhaust manifold - a splined bolt with a round head on the top side of the flange. Are you sure there isn't something of a head on the other side of the casting flange? If there is, then all the twisting and turning on the world won't do anything but break off the stud. Make sure its not pressed in from the top of the flange. If it is a splined-bolt "stud", then heat applied to the casting and some sharp raps to the threaded end with a hammer is the method of removal for this type of "stud". Installation of new studs is similar to wheel stud installation - you use the nut and a spacer of some sort(a larger nut or two) to pull the new stud into place using an impact driver.

I don't recall what the Eagle cast iron manifolds have. If it is a threaded stud, then it'll need heat applied to the casting, as described by others, to hopefully set it free using one of the various stud removal tools.

[lapoltba]

I assume both studs are the same.  If that is the case they are threaded into the manifold side of the flange.  I know because the front one is already out.  Liberal amounts of PB blaster and shocking with a hammer and long metal rod have not worked in freeing it.  I will report back on how things go with the extractor tonight, hopefully with good news.

But then again, I wouldn't put it past designers to use two different fasteners on the same flange.

[lapoltba]

I am happy to report that I finally got the stud out.  It wasn't pretty but it's out.  Heat alone didn't help, even with the stud extractor set I borrowed from autozone.  It wasn't going to budge.  I read somewhere an old tool and die makers trick for loosening rusted and seized bolts.

Heat the bolt/flange with a torch, it doesn't have to be red hot.  Get a regular white candle and melt it on the bolt and the wax sucks right into the hole/thread due to capillary action.  Apply torque however you like.  Voila, bolt is out.  It was literally that easy.  Heated for a couple minutes, and added wax.  Used the extractor and it backed out with nearly no force.  Amazed....  

I ran a tap through the hole to clear it out and installed the new studs with a liberal coating of anti-seize.

The stud is not pretty at all, there were nearly no threads left before I started with the cam type puller.  There were even less when I finally got the needle roller one on there.  I'm lucky I gave up with the first one when I did, it was bent and I was probably close to snapping it off.  This is the aftermath of the stud removal:

[eaglefreek]

Congrats. I'll have to try that trick one day.

[carnuck]

If you don't have the gas for heating it yet, get the yellow tank MAPP gas which has some oxygen mixed in to burn hotter.