Well, the last few times out I have been hearing a rattle noise coming from the engine. I finally found it, my exhaust header stud bolt broke inside the head. I drilled the stud out a little & was trying to get a groove cut in it so I could use a flat head screw driver to turn it out but the stud is in there too tight. After my anger subsided I realized this is a stud that is not supposed to come out with ease since a nut screws on to it & it would be a constant problem to tighten/check if it did. My neighbor lent me an "out" drill bit but it was too big & the angle of approach is too big because of the frame being in the way. I can always buy a smaller "out" drill bit & borrow his Dremel drill since it has a snake attachment for tight spaces but what do I do when I get it all drilled out, will I have to tap it for a larger stud? I hope I don't have to remove the engine to do all this?

I recall someone mentioned having this problem, I am looking for any/all advice as far as how to deal with this situation? I'd hate to think I'd have to pay my local dealer to do it=$$$

 

Use a correct size EZ out along with a right angle drill to make it easier to work around the frame. If your threads aren't damaged you should be able to chase the threads and re use. If the threads are damaged you can drill it out and use a heli coil insert. good luck

 

Thanks Rocky, do you think the stud should come out easily with correct sized EZ out & drill, or is it lock tited in there? If so, is there anything I can squirt in there & let sit to help dissolve & make removal easier?

 

Try some liquid wrench to soak it with. If there is any sticking out you will want to try and grind it flat on top and bottom then use a vise grip as tight as you can get it.

If that doesnt work we can try tac welding a nut to whats left of the stud. (I have a welder if you have the beer!) If that doesnt work the stud should be broke off flush now..

Then theres a choice, you can use an easy out, which may work and you wont have to do anything with the threads or just drill the entire stud out (pick up the new one first from the dealer to get the right depth) then pick up the proper bit and tap for that stud, if you are steady handed with the drill you shouldnt have to go larger.

hurray up were supposed to ride this weekend!!

 

I don't think it will come out easy since they are torqued in there pretty good, but it should come out with some elbow grease. Hopefully someone will chime in that has had to do this before.

 

hey chimmer, i think it was me that your talking about that had all thsoe posts about a month ago. Yeah, like everyone is saying now you could go buy something that sears sells, im not sure if its called an easy out or not but u could try that. After a careful assesment two people who i know and trust told me about this stuff called marine-tex. I dont know what kind of bike u have or if u are against alternative solutions but if u dont care about replacing the broken stud with a new stud i highly reccoment doing this although one way of using this stuff would make the result not that much of an alternative to what youve been trying to do(replacing and tappin the stud).

what is marine-tex u might ask. Well my uncle used it on his boat engine and basically its the same idea as an epoxy but stronger than the steel and anything that is on your bike now. u can use it as a sealer, a bonder, and a filler which leaves u with two options if u use this.

o btw...i did try removing it but the metal surrounding the stud was so damn soft it just ripped apart everything around it so its now like i was lazy or anything plus the angle was really hard.

back to your options. U can eaither use it as a glue and sealer and just put it in the area that the pipe is inserted into and on the surfact the flange rests against and that will bond and seal everything right up. THe only disadvantage to this, that the bond is so strong, that it will make anything it touches one. so your pipe will actually be part of the engine. The only way to take this out is to drill it out. For me this wasnt a prob cause i wasnt planning on replacing the head pipe any time soon.

the other option is to continue to try drilling the stud out (and inadvertantly all the soft aluminum parts of the engine that surround the stud) which will be sloppy at first but then u fill the stud hole and all the other metal that got ripped apart with this marine-tex. and then smooth it out so that it is flush/flat with the rest of the metal(even the part where the stud was). Let it dry for about 8 hours. then u can drill and tap it. I think this is kinda like how u fix a hole that was made in sheetrock wall.

hope this helps. i did it and hasnt been a problem since. gool luck!


again...i did try to fix this the common way but it wasnt practical for my needs. U really might wanna give this a try. U can find this stuff at any marine store and maybe even an auto store. Its about ten bucks and u can only use it once. And when i say this stuff works...with the remaining marine-tex i had left after throughly layin this stuff on. I layed a reallly big rock onto some scrap 6 by 4 planks. The rock was about the size of a 3 liter bottle of coke and guess what, there is a rock permanently attacked to a piece of wood. hehe

 

Well, I got the correct sized easy out at sears today so I'll try removing the broken stud that way. The only problem is its made for a hand tool so I may have to go back & get that or try finding one for a drill.

Warrior007, its too far down to get a vice grip on it & I know, I want to get it fixed for Sunday too.
The only problem I see is I'll pay extra for the rush delivery of the new stud & then I'll wind up ruining the threads & have to retap it anyway & then I'll need a larger stud which I won't be able to get in time for Sunday & then...LOL

But wait, lets not forget Home Depot or Lowe's, they may have the stud size I need either way, I'll just have to remove one of the good ones to compare the size-arrgh!

Stock tip, buy WCOEQ low, sell high!

 

Chimmer, I had the same problem recently with my head to head pipe stud, and this is how I dealt with it( and it ain't pretty) lol. Because of the tight working area, I decided it best to remove the head completely so as I could work on it without messing anything up. After getting the head on a bench, i used a center punch and made an indention as near the middle of the broke stud as possible. The reason for the center punching is to make sure you drill as center of the bolt as possible without your drill bit wondering around. After about a six pack of beer, I finally had the courage to start the drilling lol.You will need a drill bit for the proper size to work with the metric tap that you will be using. If I recall correctly, I think to stud is a M4 size, so you will need a tap of that size; I picked my tap and my new stud up at the local hardware store. Carefully drill out the broke bolt, being careful to stay on the bolt and not into the aluminum head, going to a depth of about one half an inch.At this point, you should have made it all the way thru the old bolt, and into the space under the old bolt. Now simply tap the hole out with your tap, and install your new stud. I hope this is of some help to you.

 

warriordude33has the correct way to solve the problem. You need to remove the head. Patches with bondo type material will only be a mess on a good qaud. Fix it right. The studs seem tight and all the ones I have removed come out real easy if you first of all clamp on the stud with a pair of vise grips and while putting some torque on the vise grips tap the end of the stud with a hammer. It kind of snaps loose and you can take it the rest of the way out by hand most of the time. Since yours is broke flush with the head, with the head off you can grind a slot in it with a drimmel to use a screwdriver tip in a 1/4 inch socket on a ratchet. After you let liquid wench do its' job put some tension on the ratchet and tap the head of the ratchet. You will want the screwdriver tip in the 1/4 inch socket as described because it is stronger metal than a regular screwdriver. If this does not work then your only option is to drill and use an easy out s described in the previous post. Good luck. BTW I just bought new studs and they were about $8.00 for four. Most Yamaha dealers do not stock them and you will not find them at Home Depot or Lowes. The head is not that difficult to remove. If you do not have a manual you can order one from Yamaha or www.motocom.com. They cost about $55.00. It may be a good time to freahin up the valves if you have a lot of hours on the quad. All you need is a new head gasket.

 

I really appreciate all the advice but unfortunately I tried fixing it last night before I listened.
I figured I would have to remove the engine/head to do it right but I tried with it in the frame anyway.
I was only able to drill 1/4" thru the stud with the snake/dremel drill so I used my B&D drill with better success, unfortunately, I didn't have enough light to see that I was drilling too deep & I drilled all the way thru the head where I struck antifreeze, damn....
So, I will now remove the head & try & fix it with an oversized stud/JB weld or I may have to replace the head @ $515 plus $39 gaskett, ouch.....
If I only had a brain....