Impossible to remove exhaust...bolt rusted in?

[tussey]

I'm taking my bike apart. One of the screws on the exhaust WILL NOT budge. I've applied enough torque to the allen wrench to nearly topple the bike. I've sprayed it with lube, I don't know what else to do. Any ideas would be helpful. 

[weaselnoze]

use a pipe for more leverage. 

[Wrecent_Wryder]

4f

[weaselnoze]

hehe paranoid sounds about accurate 

[Wrecent_Wryder]

[4

[The Buddha]

On one bike last year, the bolt head stripped and broke off, the stub left wasn't comming out with welding on a nut after threading it on 3 threads, and it wasn't comming off no way, no how.  I eventually drilled it out and the damaged threads were replaced with helicoils.  The drills etc had to have the entire front end off and the bike had to be hung from the ceiling and strapped to the floor to keep it from moving. Not fun. But it came out, eventually ... 
Cool.
Srinath.

[skoebl]

I just recently painted my exhaust (pics in a few days...am lazy  )....But my header bolts came out fairly easily. Mind you, I had to use a standard size allen wrench because of the tight fit I couldn't get my sooper-dooper-multi-allen-wrench-flippy-thing at the right angle to get at them.

I think I messed up though when putting them back in. I have some "White Lithium Grease"....and I figured "long lasting lubrication...works for me!"....

So I sprayed a little on each bolt. They went in really easily, but, once I started the bike, it began to smoke and smoke and smell awful.


Morals of the story: Make sure to buy stuff that can hold up to heat; and don't breath fumes! 

[MarkusN]

I think I messed up though when putting them back in. I have some "White Lithium Grease"....and I figured "long lasting lubrication...works for me!"....

So I sprayed a little on each bolt. They went in really easily, but, once I started the bike, it began to smoke and smoke and smell awful.


Morals of the story: Make sure to buy stuff that can hold up to heat; and don't breath fumes!

Lithium grease wont do in that spot. Actually, the burning grease may make matters worse next time. You need solid lubricants in those spots; I usually use copper paste. I'm reluctant to use MoS2 in threads, as it can lead to bolts rattling loose more easily. Copper doesn't lubricate quite as well but still should make for a good separation of the surfaces.

Having heard one too many story about torn off header bolts I have replaced the standard allen bolts with stainless studs and cap nuts. We'll see how it goes when I have to take it down next time. (Which is, like, yesterday; my headers look awful.)

[ukchickenlover]

If the engine is hot the bolts should come out easier because the engine will expand more than the bolts. Just go for a ride to heat the engine and then try removing the bolts.

[Mandres]

I've had very good luck with this product:



it foams up and penetrates into the union.  I've heard PB Blaster is good too, but I've never tried it.

-M

[tussey]

Wow this is fantastic. So I went out and bought a hex set for my socket wrench, went away at the bolt, guess what. It freaking snapped in half. So half is in the cylinder head the other half fell off. I guess I'll be drilling but I know it's in my engine and metal scraps are probably gonna get in there plus I don't know jack about taking the engine apart (I have a manual though).

So please any help would REALLY be appreciated before I try this. Anyone tips/suggestions would be great, what to do, what not to do. Thanks.

[ukchickenlover]

Ask a mechanic how much they will charge to remove it?

[Mandres]

Is there enough sticking out of the head to thread a nut onto?  If so, you could weld it on and try using a wrench to power the bolt out.  Soak the area with a good penetrating oil (like PB Blaster or the Seafoam product in the pic above) and let it soak overnight before trying this.  If this doesn't look like it will work you could pull the head, take it to a machine shop, and have them drill out the bolt and re-tap or helicoil the hole. 

Sorry to hear it went sour, let us know how it works out
-M

[The Buddha]

Wow this is fantastic. So I went out and bought a hex set for my socket wrench, went away at the bolt, guess what. It freaking snapped in half. So half is in the cylinder head the other half fell off. I guess I'll be drilling but I know it's in my engine and metal scraps are probably gonna get in there plus I don't know jack about taking the engine apart (I have a manual though).

So please any help would REALLY be appreciated before I try this. Anyone tips/suggestions would be great, what to do, what not to do. Thanks.

Same thing happened to mine. It happened to 2 of the 4 header bolts, one left 3 threads or so exposed, the other left 1 or so threads ... I took the front end off and drilled it with the sears issue extractors. Looon loooong time later, they came out. Not easy ... BTW stuff a rag into the exhaust port to keep scrap out ... and for gods sake ... drill the center ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[Wrecent_Wryder]

4d

[tussey]

So I'm going to drill it tomorrow. Here is my plan, let me know what you think.

0. Stuff rag behind bolt inside gasket, prevent scraps from dropping inside.
1. Spray bolt with lube
2. Drill center of bolt with tiny bit, making tiny hole all the way through center of bolt
3. Repeat Step 2 with each time with larger bit eventually hollowing out the bolt to a thin frail metal circle.
4. Using tools dig out hollowed shell of bolt breaking it
5. Remove sraps of broken bolt from head.

[Wrecent_Wryder]

[3

[tussey]

I might risk a small shallow hole in the bolt to use an EZ-out if it's not too deep. Maybe others have better suggestions.

How long is the section that broke off?  Maybe there's enough thread to hold if you just cut the new bolt to that length, and leave the piece of the old one in there?

What's an EZ-out? Also the bolt broke flush with the head so that's a no go

[The Buddha]

OK You need to add these 2-3 steps.
Strap bike to ceiling, and floor, remove front end ... the whole kit and kaboodle ...
If you want  ... I will buy it and you buy that blaarg's ... Mine was broken 2-3 threads front of the head and I still had to drill it out. Make sure you keep it away from the elements when the pipe is out, it will give you valve stem rust ... whihc will in turn gall and score the guides when you start it after fixing it.
Cool.
Srinath.

[sledge]

Unless you are very very confident about doing this I would leave it to a pro, its a very difficult thing to do succesfully without experience and suitable tools, and you run the real risk of scrapping the head. Idealy the broken stud needs to be drilled out with a Drill-press with the head clamped rock steady in a vice perfectly central to the axis of the drill. Like Wrecent says the danger with doing it by hand is the drill bit going off center and letting it wander from the hard metal of the bolt into the softer metal of the head and damaging the original threads. Assuming you can drill through the bolt you will also have to clean the threaded hole out afterwards with a suitable sized Tap as you will still have metal in the threads. Another option would be spark-errosion but I am not sure if it can be applied to this particular job. The people to talk to about getting it done would be a local firm of Engine-Reconditioners, they usually provide the service.