Broken exhaust stud

[agedbikeman]

Further to a previous post "Exhaust, age old problem"
I have now managed to remove the collector box by as you suggest dropping the R/H downpipes, no one said you had to remove the crashbar aswell, anyhow it's off at the expense of a broken stud, see photos.

What are my chances of getting it out, should I,
1. try and take it out with a mulgrip tool
2, leave well alone, and fit new seal rings, bolt it back and hope it doesn't leak, the front pipe is attached to the middle pipe by a steel bar, so it's not as if No.1 pipe is hanging on one bolt, hence why I had to remove the crash bar

Also the ring that I'm pointing to with a wrench is the seal between downpipe and collector, it's firmly stuck but in good condition, I assume i can re use this?

Thanks for any input
Alex

[XJSRider]

I would spray that sucker with penetrating oil then lightly tap the stud with a hammer. Do this many times over the course of a couple days. At that point:

1. If no welder: Grab that sucker with a set of vice grips, say a little prayer to motorcycle gods and try your luck. Hopefully you don't shear the stud off. Make sure you did the penetrating oil and tappa tappa tap many times.

2. If you have a welder: Maybe try step 1 anyway, if no luck, slip washer over stud (should fit tight to stud), then a nut (doesn't need to thread on) and weld the nut to the stud. Use a wrench on the nut to remove the stud. Don't start wrenching immediately after welding, the stud will be hot and expand. Let it cool down and shrink a bit. The heat/cool cycle will help break it loose. Washer is there to keep you from welding to the case.

Good luck.

PS I reused those seals didn't have any problems.

PPS I DID replace the copper crush washers where header meets exhaust port as mine were absolutely smashed. This was the best price I could find and they fit fine:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Pack-Exhaust ... 2749.l2649

[Rednaxs60]

I would use a propane torch and do a heat/cool procedure combined with a good penetrating oil. The stud and head will expand at different rates, hopefully freeing up the stud enough to get it out - after each heat/cool take a vice grip and give it a twist. Should use a new exhaust gasket at the collector if you remove the pipes. Worse case is head will have to come off.

[agedbikeman]

Thanks guys, I'll try the heat cool procedure over the weekend, there's a broken stud on the left aswell but that downpipe is not coming off so I'm going to leave that one alone. it wasn't leaking to start with so I don't see it leaking now.

I've got an arc welder but I'm not confident with it so near alloy.

I've also got a mini chef's blowlamp with a pencil size flame, I'm going to give that a go.


Cheers guys, have a good weekend

[MikeB]

Check this You Tube video:


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This guy is using a MIG welder but the same results can be achieved with a stick welder or a TIG welder.

[MikeB]

Here is another You Tube video where the guy is using a Stick Welder.



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[XJSRider]

mig is nice choice for stuff like this. Looked like he was using flux core in the vid (no nozzle for shielding gas).

This has saved me before lol.

But torch and vice grips also works well if there is something to grab onto.

Good luck OP!

[89 1500]

I broke one off in my 92. The front inside one on the left side. There was enough exposed to clamp my small vice grips on. Came out easy enough though.

[agedbikeman]

Been heating, tapping and jiggling all day, maybe I need better vice grips, trouble is good tools are hard to find here, it just won't budge it only broke at the bottom of the thin thread, there's a good bit sticking out to grab hold of but it just won't move, the grips eventually slip off because it's tapered, filed 2 flats on it, no different.

I'm about to give up and go for the drilling and re tapping method, I've got some very effective cobalt drill bits. for drilling stainless steel, so the studs won't be a problem for it.

I've got a stick welder but don't like the idea of using it because of the flying slag, watched the youtube video using welder, but didn't burn a bit of the alloy away, I'd be too scared of that, don't want to start removing heads.

If it don't budge tomorrow, out comes the drill and center punch. I'll start with 3mm and go from there

[ct1500]

I know it is too late now but applying heat to the nuts prior to removal would prevent breakage of the studs.

[agedbikeman]

Not too late, I wanted to remove the left downpipes, there is also 1 broken stud and 1 stuck, I'm scared to undo it as it was tighter than the rest, I will heat it and take it gently.

Thank you CT1500

[fnickel]

I had the same issue a couple of years ago. The heat/cool cycle and much tapa/tapa helped, and then when grabbing it with vice grips, do only very small movements in both directions, loosening only in ever increasing small increments. Don’t try to loose it completely in one fell swoop. Mine did start to move slightly, and did come out quite easily after getting some small movement initially.

[Rednaxs60]

Stud(s) have been in there for some 25 years, patience and as fnickel mentions, little at a time. Pen oil is good, but hard for a fluid to flow uphill. Good vice grips are a necessity.

[Swagonmaster]

While you are trying the heat and tap thing, get it as hot as your torch allows and press a candle to the broken stud. Believe it or not it really works possibly because the candle wax doesn't flash off like penetrating oil does and allows the wax to get up in the threads.

[agedbikeman]

Continuing story of broken exhaust stud 2, now hope I've not ruined the head beyond hope
having got the first one out I thought we have the technology, how stupid of me to think like that,
I heated, tapped, sprayed, did everything you guys told me to try, nope it wouldn't budge, so I finally got out the drill and cobalt bits, did a dummy drilling on stud 1 (removed) to see how hard the metal was, cobalt drills whizzed through it, so here we go on stuck stud 2. as usual no way you could get the center punch dead center, FYI, the stud hole is twice as deep as the stud thread, went slowly with a 3mm bit til it was through, then a 4mm, but wasn't so careful, drilled the hole on the head even deeper than it was, carried on with a pen mark on each drill, 5,then 6 then 7mm, finally not enough left of the stud to be stuck, and unscrewed it.
Pushed a rod into the hole and it still had a solid bottom, no liquids emitted from it, screwed in a bolt to test, thread ok.

This is the stud stud, the front most one, so you know where I'm coming from

This is just a photo of a head on Ebay, not my one, just to see where the drill might have gone if I'd not stopped when I did

This is what's left of the stud after drilling, I didn't use an 8mm drill I stopped at 7mm

Just hope I've not caused any problems by accidently deepening the stud hole.
If anyone has a head lying around maybe you could look to see what damage could be caused if I'd deepened the hole too much, where the hole would have ended up.

Thank guys for you help and putting up with my waffle.
Alex

[XJSRider]

Man what a PITA!!!! Glad you got it out without trashing the threads. I think you'll be ok with the slight overdrill doesn't look like you would have hit anything.

[Swagonmaster]

As long as you didn't drill into another passage then no harm has been done. If you really want to be paranoid then probe around at the bottom of the hole with an awl to see if the metal is so thin that you can poke a hole in it.

[agedbikeman]

Did that, only found solid bottom of hole, If I had drilled into another passage, I suppose I could have put a short grub screw in with loctite. I think the only passages would be oil or water and there was no sign of any liquid in the hole.

If they'd have used stainless nuts and 8mm paralell studs we wouldn't have this problem, but that would've added 50 cents to a 20,000 dollar bike

Alex

[Swagonmaster]

Now your next big issue, do you use antisieze or locktite to put the studs in with?

[XJSRider]

Now your next big issue, do you use antisieze or locktite to put the studs in with?

This made me laugh.

[agedbikeman]

LOCKTITE!!!!!!! heaven forbid, I always thought it was the tread that held a nut and bolt together, if it's that critical use a spring washer, what did us bikers do before Locktite, our bikes didn't fall to bits en route, anti sieze of course, exhaust can't fall off even if you lost every nut, talking of nuts, I'd like to meet the nut that designed this exhaust, what's all this copper woven sealing collar rubbish, pipe slips into pipe do up the clamp, never seen anything like it before, easy on, easy off, and paint it to stop rust.
Now you're getting me started on a different rant (as us old gits are inclined to).
the answer is I have ceramic high temperature anti sieze paste.

[Swagonmaster]

I thought I would get a reaction from that.

[Old Fogey]

Loctite is not as stupid as you might think. Not for holding the stud in but for forming a barrier between the steel stud and the alloy head. It works as an anti seize if you don't have anything else to hand.

[agedbikeman]

I have a pot of ceramic grease, anti sieze assembly paste, works up to 1500 degrees centigrade, also good for the rubber grommets on the side panels so you don't break the pins getting them off.

I had enough of loctite when I had a Can Am Spyder, every bolt was coated to excess as if Can Am had shares in Loctite, we didn't need it in the old days and a GL1500 is now the old days.

[Swagonmaster]

There is a time and place for both products but I was joking, unless you were trying to stop a leak past the threads Loctite wouldn't be what I would use either.