Exhaust Manifold - How to remove these studs?

Hi all,

I have got myself a Steve Parkers exhaust and removed the old 2.25 downpipes which were connected to the 3.5 V8 manifolds.

On the N/S I snapped 2 of the 3 studs and on the offside I snapped 1 (very very old and snapped easily). The O/S has already been drilled through and doesn't need to be done.

Now here is a picture of the N/S manifold:



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I have ground the studs (there wasn't alot) and attempted to drill the studs out with my home drill (Cobalt drill bits).

Now it's being a total pain in the arse to drill out and will take forever.

Anyone have any tips on how to drill these studs out so that I can put bolts in their place?

Thanks in advance

The bolts will drill out if you use a slow speed and dont force the drill. Try a small size first and work your way up.

Yeah, you have to go SLOW.

It can take forever, but that's how I did it. Then I found the stud extractor.....

Left handed drills often work well ..

My late father-in-law told me that he was taught to cut leaf springs on a Morris Minor by hand using a hacksaw. The secret was to go extremely slow. Same when drilling, go slow, use some oil to cool it down.

Go slow and douse with water and 3-in-1 mixed with a small amount of fairy liquid.

I just did mine and helicoiled them myself, robbing bastard engineers wanted £20 a stud cos they said it would break loads of drill bits. I bought a set of good drills for £20 and used precisely 1! I did use a pillar drill though which helps as you can apply a steady and straight pressure.

I also got a helicoil set from RDG engineering and re-threaded them for new studs.

If you have access to a pillar drill or bench drill then it really will be easy...if using a hand drill then be prepared to use plenty of bits...start small and work up steadily or consider using screw in type stud extractor after heating up to loosen

Thanks for all your answers.

I'll give it a go tomorrow with smaller bits and working my way up.

I was going at full speed too.

Failing that i'll see if I can find a work shop that can do it.

Can any garage get these studs out or does it have to be a special shop?

in a case like that. a oxy torch works in heating and then let cool down to where you can touch it, this will make the steel softer. Or if you break a stud off before you grind it flush but a nut over it and weld it up, let cool down then use a 6point socket and should come out nicely.