Broken LS Exhaust Bolt Removal - Best Trick Ever! 

I work in a GM shop . We do this all the time with one exception - instead of trying to build up the weld , we will weld a nut onto the broken bolt to be able to use a wrench on it , then slowly work it back and forth .

Pro tip: If the stud is above the surface (like the first one) and you choose to try to pull it with vice-grips, then put a flat washer (fender washer is best) on the stud to protect the mating surface.

I just love these instruction videos that show you the wrong way to get lucky.

First - use your vise gripes the correct way, it will offer you better leverage. Second - weld a nut to the end of both bolts (the sabe way you built up the second one) this will offer you an easier way to grip and extract.

You should never move the bolt in only one direction. You look for the first tiny movement in one direction and then move the bolt back and forth as many times as it takes to free the bolt. A lot of penetrating oil while doing this helps.

On initial movement, attempt to rock the bolt back and forth. Even if you cant see it move, keep rocking back and forth. Doing this when removing the manifolds works too, before you break them off.

For the stud broken above the surface, always use the largest vise grips available. When it moves, then move it backward, then forward, then backward, over and over. Don't do too much in one turn.

Nice! Side note when using pliers with a moveable jaw, it's best to have the movable jaw on the side you're turning toward. Ie. in your case the movable jaw would be on top to turn counterclockwise. This is so that the jaw wants to push in and bite, not try and slide off by dragging outward. Something my dad, a professional mechanic, taught me decades ago. Thanks for sharing, loved it. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

You were using the pliers backwards. Vise grips, channel locks, and pipe wrenches the large side should “follow” rotation. The teeth are designed to bite in that direction. They will slip if you have them on backwards.

....forgot to say, if you weld a nut to that stud broken below the surface instead of just piling weld in the hole it's a lot easier. So hold the nut over the hole and then fill it with weld. You get good heat soak and can use a socket to pull it out. Have several nuts on hand in case the first doesn't work.

Welding an old allen key on is a sweet tip too in some circumstances. Can get good leverage on that with a ring spanner or crescent wrench. Moves the wrenching safely away from the soft alloy surface. The comments section here is full of awesome alternatives and little touches, it's gold.

You're better off turning a seized bolt back and forth rather than just winding it out. It breaks up any corrosion, and reduces the force required. Once you know it's going to come out, use some penetrating oil too.

I USUALLY JUST stare at the bolt until it backs itself out:)

I always put a washer over the broken bolt and weld it to the end of the broken bolt, putting as much heat into the bolt as possible. then I weld a large nut over the washer, welding down through the hole in the nut. after letting it cool for a minute, put a socket or wrench on the nut and wiggle it back and forth a few times to free up the threads, then try to gently unscrew the bolt from the hole without it breaking. My record is 8 try's before a stubborn bolt came free and unthreaded from a cylinder head.

If the stud is above the surface, just use a turbo socket (8mm I believe). This works great and does no damage. Also, tapping the turbo socket on also shocks the threads a little and may help loosen it further. As for the "below the surface" stud, we just weld a nut on and use a wrench or a socket -

Pro tip: for the below surface cut, instead of building the weld all the way up as you did, only build till the surface and weld a nut on top of the stock. This allows a stronger build with advantage of using a wrench to remove it.

Good tip , I used to be a pipe fitter on railroad and I removed more broken studs by welding a nut to the broken base metal than you can believe !! I was working with cast iron castings with steel bolts broken off deeply inside the bore at times. I had blue colored welding electrodes Called stud-pull ! They were designed to not bite into the cast iron as easily as they did to the steel bolt. If you make little plug welds like little b b 's and connect them together until the b b 's are out close to flush ,you place a nut over top the broken stud and plug weld the nut to the little b b ' s tacks you made ! Patience is all it takes . The key is the heat breaking the corrosion between base metal and stud . Since retirement ,I have adapted the technique using flux core wire welder and welding nuts to broken studs . I have had some really good luck using the flux core also !

Can't criticise the technique, because it worked! I've done heaps of broken exhaust studs in alli heads, my go-to method is a left hand drill bit. Bolt the manifold back on with all remaining bolts, then find a bit that only just fits through the hole and put on a bit of pressure, this will mark the centre of the stud. Then you can remove the manifold and progressively use bigger and bigger left hand bits with the drill in reverse until one of the bits bites into the stud hard enough to start turning it out (Which happens 90% of the time) or until you get to the correct size to re-tap the hole. This was my preferred method after breaking several easy outs and having to get them out too ;) Not that there's anything wrong with the welder method, just sharing info that may or may not be useful.....

I love that feeling you get when you save something like this, it just takes knowledge, patience, and balls of steel. Oh and a welder that helps too. Great video, got my thumb up.

Great video. Thank you. I think what a lot of people don't realize is that most these LS bolts break off from heat expansion by themselves. Therefore they may not be stuck that bad in the head. I have been surprised at how easy some of these bolts come out if there is something protruding out of the head that you can grab onto. And on the recessed ones. I would always try a left handed drill bit before breaking out the welder. I have seen a few back out while drilling.

Rocking the exposed bolt back and forth will get you farther faster and safer than just trying to unscrew it right off. For the submerged bolt, an alum bath would dissolve it right out of there. Take a day or two, but it will eat it. Welding, Inserting a short piece of copper tubing to shield the aluminum threads, would be a really good idea.

Hi great job lots of room to work,I was a certified welder for 43 years and worked my last 28 years on heavy equipment and have seen lots of broken studs in tight places and i used a stick welder with a rod called stud plus.It weld only where you stick it and the puddle doesn't spread so less chance of messing the treads.It's a high tensile strenght rod.Would give it little stop and go zaps till it was even or a touch more pass the surface than give it little to medium taps with a chipping hammer.Taking a washer slightly larger and again welding in little zaps and than tapping on it again.Taking a oversize nut and welding it all around on the inside to the washer,letting it cool enough for the red to disappear I like to use a old cheep box wrench and work it back and forth little at a time and sometimes work have to tap the wrench with a hammer to get it started,once it feels free if the stud was long i would switch to a socket.

Love the damage you did to exhaust flange seating area with the vice grips, was waiting to see you break off the spark plug that you dould have removed first also.

Some notes on the vice grips: You were using them backwards, you want to put the fixed jaw against the direction of rotation, not the moveable jaw. The closer you get to the fulcrum of the jaws, the more pressure it puts on the part being clamped onto.

Always helps to "SHOCK" the stud first by tapping it (medium hard taps) with a hammer first. Helps to loosen or break the seal first.

A tip with the long broken bolt is to give it a few hits with a hammer before using the vise grips. The hammering helps to loosen the bolt.

39 yrs as a Master ASE in some of the worst rust of WI, thankfully no more. Welding onto a broken bolt has been my method since the 80s. A sacrifice bolt with a point ground on works on small broken stuff like m6. Welding into the recess just paves the way for destruction of threads. A pointed carbide bit to create a clean spot in center to weld a pile onto. Don't let it cool so much. Put a nut over the pile held in place with needle nose grips. Then weld fast n smooth until the filler reaches the top of the nut. A bit of carb clean or water will draw the heat from the weld very fast so spray it once the visible orange is gone. The radical temp change will cause the dissimilar metals to separate their bond and NO grips needed to extract. Comes out like new hardware.

Please always post your failures as well as your successes! I'm not looking for perfection but it's good to see what to do when problems arise!

I appreciate you leaving the failure in there. It shows those of us that it may happen to, to keep trying.

Really good feeling when mechanic works all day and says impossible to remove head has to come off. Forman asked me to try and got it right out with welder.

Pro Tip - Before removing the manifold and breaking any bolts spray them down with WD40 and rattle the head of the bolt with blunt bit punch several times. Try it gently back and forth, if it doesn't move repeat with WD40 and rattle with punch. It will come out without breaking if your gentle. If you already broke them, Toss the vice grips away. Weld a nut on the stub of your protruding weld or the remaining bolt if it's sticking out, then quench the hot nut with a wet rag. The heat will stay in the head while the bolt shrinks. Much easier to make small movements using a box end rather than vice grips.

As a retired toolmaker from down under in Australia try giving the stuck out stud a sharp heavy hit inwards there is always a slight clearance in the threads and it loosens the corrosion as well.

Welding works well on larger bolts and he really doesn't have too much worry with the weld sticking to the aluminum but if you have the experience with a center punch drilling the bolt with a small drill bit then using a larger left hand drill bit can sometimes do the trick. Drilling a hole in the bolt can release some of the pressure on the threads and also makes the left hand bit bite harder. If it doesn't come out with the left hand drill bit you can try a easy out. Also drilling all the way through allows you to get penetrant to the bottom of the bolt. As a last resort if you have perfectly drilled a centered hole you can increase your drill to the size used to tap for that thread and just run a tap through but that takes precision or you could ruin the old threads. I've only been doing this for 48 years in manufacturing environments.

I always got my best results putting turning-pressure on the bolt,(or a nut) just a little one way, then the other, and then again add a little more WD. Also, tapping a bolt (or a nut) lightly with a hammer when applying WD helps a bit too. It's of course better not to break it in the first place, and that's how you do that. Also, when it looks like you've got it, put the WD to it again. They can still bust off coming out. Always a good feeling when things go right for a change. Nice job.

Great tips on the one broken off below flush. On the one sticking out, my usual method spraying a little PB Blaster on it heating it with a propane torch. It helps to get the oil to penetrate and also burns out and thread locker that may have been put on it. Let it soak overnight if possible, tack a nut onto the remaining threads, or double nut it if I can and wrench it off. So far its not failed me.

The threads looked pretty good on the one with the stud sticking out. What I would have tried was cleaning the threads up, putting a nut on the stud then tack welding it. The second I would've went for the drill out and easy out. Aluminum heats up quickly, I would have applied heat to expand the metal around the studs if needed. Just my 2 cents.

I like the way even the stray weld that laid down on the aluminum didn't stick or significantly damage the aluminum. When I weld aluminum, it has a way of suddenly letting go and you get a puddle of aluminum on your foot. So it's nice to see you have some latitude before that happens to your new head.

Guys, I have done about 63 of these so far in both iron heads and aluminum and probably 100 in industrial wood chipper knife holders. I use a stick welder with prefferably 1/16 Marquette SPOT WELDER RODS . Steel bolts in a steel part are the hardest to do. First thing to remember is that metals expand when heated. A large chunk of metal expands pushing in on the bolt making it tighter unlike a piece of tube steel that expands to a larger size. Getting the piece of bolt really hot crushes the corrosion and when it cools it is no longer tight. My method is place a flat washer over the hole as centered as possible and don't let it slip. Stab it with the stick electrode just enough to deposit a tiny bit of weld. The flux will be around the dab of weld. DON'T CHIP THE FLUX, IT IS YOUR THREAD PROTECTOR. Keep dabbing just as the color fades when the weld freezes. What I am trying for is a "rosette" weld. After you get above the machined surface, connect your rosette weld to the flat washer and actually weld it on. Let it cool till you can touch it. Put some more weld trying to get the washer red hot. let it cool. Repeat for the third time. Then smack it with a hammer ONE TIME. Wind the broken stud or bolt out with pliers and save it. The next one you do weld the last stud piece on as a handle. I got to 37-3/8 inches of broken 5/16"chipper studs before I broke my stick of bolt bits. Same thing works on Budd wheel studs that are screwed in studs of the front hubs. For these big ones I weld a nut on the flat washer and use a wrench. I figured this out on small block Ford heads which only can be drilled with a cobalt drill or depleted uranium bit. Then use a SQUARE extractor, never a spiral one. If you only have a spiral one, turn it until it bites into the stud then stop. Heat it with your shop torch which transfers the heat to the stud swelling it up and crushing the rust. Heat and repeat, then when completely cool it won't be tight and comes right out. The extractor will need re-tempered. Not having or finding my 3/16 cobalt bit I did the welding removal and have only done it that way since. The spot welder rods leave a bare end that the arc starts on fairly easy. If using 7018 rub them on the floor between tacks to get an easier start. Don't use 6011 0r 6013 as the spatter will get stuck to the the internal threads. By the way, heating the manifold nuts with a shop torch and using the iron manifold as a heat shield to crush the rust may prevent breaking the studs in the first place. george and aurora building Villa Cecelia

***I apologize upfront for the loooooooooong comment but this one deserves it's due *** This is a great subject and a superb instructional video! I've had the "pleasure" 😠 of going toe-to-toe with broken bolts but on Hemi cylinder heads. Pretty much the identical situation. I gotta say, I've used a similar approach to pull flush/below surface studs from Hemi cylinder heads for years but I found that your way is even better..... WAY BETTER!!!! Before using the mig welder to extract, I used to drill them out using anything and everything from left handed bits, spiral extractors, fluted extractors, a medley of so-called "Easy Outs" which to date, I don't think any design has ever worked much less attach the word "easy" to an extraction job! Typically it would snowball into oversizing the 8mm thread boss to 10mm due to the unavoidable damage that comes with using any of the forementioned tools. In my case, I would weld a smaller (1/4" or 6mm) onto the top surface of the seized/broken bolt and then apply heat to the area around the boss using a brazing tip on an oxyacetylene setup and typically had no problems removing the piece. So, yeah, half the toolbox emptied, inevitable damage to the treads, and then possibly needing to replace the head anyhow. Not to drag on even more but my gosh, more than once I've broken a drill bit off in the bolt, left dead in the water because then it needs a cylinder head cuz u aint getting that bit out without having the skill of Jesus Himself to right that wrong! After watching this video, Im gonna do exactly what you did because now I know that your technique works, way less chance of collateral damage and sooooo much quicker! I never thought to use the "slag" as the surface to clamp onto. Man, I really appreciate that you shared this!!!! 🙌🙌

I've used your technique after watching this video and it worked on the 3rd attempt. Thank you.

Wow. The stud you had sticking out, all you had to do was weld a nut on. Instead of marring up the aluminum with vise grips. The second one you hold a nut directly over the hole. Turn your 110 welder all the way up and just weld one long burst straight into the nut till it fills it.

Pipe wrench grabs way better than vice grips on bolts that are sticking out. Welding a nut on makes them easy to turn as well.

Great video. Like others have said, it is a good idea to put a washer between the vice grip and the block to prevent damaging the machined surface. I tilt the block so the bolt is straight up, then drip WD40 at the base of the bolt - not on the major area of the exposed threads, and let it sit overnight like you did - checking every few hours to see if more drops are needed. The next day, I put on a vice grip from the side (for the best leverage) using a small hand vice that I can hold in my hand over the handles to close up the handles for a super tight bite. I drop a few more drops of WD40 at the base of the bolt, not anywhere near where I am gripping. Then I moderately rock "pressure" on vice grip back and forth - it won't move, but microscopically it may be - helping the WD40 work down. Don't force it, just wiggle the pressure for about a minute. Add another drop of WD40 at the base and increase the wiggle pressure. Repeat this a few more times with increasing pressure (more in the off direction and less in the on direction). Usually within 3 minutes it will start to work loose. Keep hitting it with WD40 as you work out the bolt in a back and forth fashion. If not, remove the vice grip, wipe away any WD40 and heat the bolt (not the block) with a MAP gas torch (most big end home improvement stores have small bottles of MAP gas and nozzles - usually yellow). I heat it for about 30 seconds and then it MUST cool for a few minutes so the bolt contracts (as it swells when heated). Then I go back to the WD40/Wiggle method. Always chase the threads with a tap and make sure all debries is cleaned out before installing a bolt.

Sounds like many guys mentioned back and forth movement. Sometimes you can feel it when it's not enough to see. Good job!

couple of things here, firstly you have the vise grips on back to front that is why it was rounding off so easy , secondly a little trick i have used and it works like a charm. you have the engine on a stand so rotate it round so the head is sitting flat, take some kids modelling clay etc and build a small ring around the broken stud leaving a small moat type gap. fill it with clean brake fluid and let it soak over night. the brake fluid will flow through better than penetrating oil etc , then install your vise grips the right way round and apply a slight turning force in the anticlockwise direction, take a small hammer and gently tap as you rotate on the vise grip stud joint, i have removed some seriously nasty broken studs like this, it sound complicated but works very well. as for the below the head one in an ali head just place a nut over the hole weld into the stud and fill the nut with weld, let it cool a while then it should undo easily with wrench with a slight back and forth motion again applying brake fluid as you go, many people have doubted the brake fluid thing until they try it, then its a case of well what do you know it worked.

Doug here, started using a welder to remove broken studs in the mid 60's at Dads welding shop in Indiana. Steel bolt in aluminum is easy, steel bolt in steel is harder. Yes I was younger, and steadier. Steel in steel 1/4 inch bolt was hard to do, but was able to do it. Years later, 3/16 steel bolt in aluminum, again hard, still possible, but I had to use TIG for control.

Thank you for the welding tip, it worked for me, never used a welder in my life, it took a few tries but finally got it after turning up the heat!

That feeling when the welded broken bolt screws out, priceless. I’ve got a motorcycle with 3 snapped bolts, will definitely find someone with a welder to try and get them out this way, been wondering for ages how to get them bolts out, brilliant video 👍

I used the weld and cool and unscrew method 40 years ago to remove broken exhaust studs from VW beetle motors to save removing the engines to fix them, works very well on any heads as long as you use a very high setting for the spot welds and let the weld cool right down between welds, on one I could not remove the stud because it kept breaking, I spot welded until it was as thick as the stud and cleaned up with a file and then cut a thread onto the weld and fitted a nut and washer after installing the manifold, it held for 6 months until I fitted a new engine. Stud extractors were banned from my workshop, too brittle.

Heat and penetrating oil first. With the pliers, I wouldn't keep rotating out fully without rotating the bolt back in a bit each time you try to move it. The back and forth motion will help the threads stop plowing the rust in front of it and creating an obstacle for the threads. Heat, oil, and constant back and forth gets most bolts out regardless of the situation

Thank you for the video. It took a few tries to get a good weld on it but it worked like a champ when I did. The motor was still in the truck.

The second one with the welder is THE TROPHY! I have every broken bolt I ever extracted on a magnet on my tool box. NICE WORK! I'd have let some kroil soak in for a day or two before but dude, you nailed this shit!

Second attempt worked because it broke exposing clean metal to weld to.

I usually would put a washer on the outside of the sunken stud to shield the head and bolster the weld surface, then weld a nut on top of the nub and washer.

A good soaking with penetrating oil prior to any attempt to remove , I think is good advice, for penetrating oil I mix equal parts ATF & acetone, & keep a supply on hand , using 1-2 drops at a time depending on bolt size for a day or two

Great video. Thank you for sharing. The only thing I noticed was missing was the expletives when that first weld broke 😂.

You should be using flat jaw vice grips the one you are using is more for pipes. Always strike the outer part of broken bolt with a hammer to shock it and you will find that helps.

Your life gets easier by using heat. Apply heat to the surrounding metal with a torch, then drip turbine oil on the exposed bolt. It should be hot enough that the oil smokes. Keep dripping the oil on until it stops smoking. Then use the pliers. On the welded stud, turbine oil on the stud just after it cools some, the heat will wick the oil into the threads. Yes, any decent penetrating oil will work.

I'm a Retired Professional Wrench (Audi's are my Specialty). Throughout the 80's working at the Dealership, the 5 Cylinder Audi Engines would break Studs, especially at Cyl. #5, the long term fix would be to have the Exhaust Manifold Resurfaced locally, replace all the Studs with Updated slightly longer Studs , new self locking Copper? Nuts (8mm x 1.25) along with Audi's Thick Stainless Steel Washers. I've successfully drilled out hundreds of Exhaust Studs (Heads in the Car) during the past 48+ Years. Pro Tips: Quality Penetrating Fluid or Candle Wax after appling heat with a propane torch), Smack the Stud sharply with a Hammer or Drift to "Stress Relieve" the threads, if you choose to drill (I always did), use Reverse Drill Bits and Drill all the way through the Stud, you can sense when make it through into the Void behind the Stud, once through your able to get the Penetrating Fluid through the hole to the back of the stud. BTW: I use a Snap-On no. 1020 Screw Extractor Set. For an 8mm Stud Broken off just below the surface, I discovered that the outer threads are already buggered up, so I use a 3/8" drill bit which accomplishes two objectives, it leaves a nice centered concave starting point for a 1/8" or 3/16" drill bit, also it removes those outer damaged threads making it much easier to remove the Stud (the new stud will simply seat a little deeper into the head). Hope these Tips help some one. Randy AKA randog311

I just really have a hard time wasting anymore of my life watching a video made by someone that is using a pair of vise grips backwards. That’s all have a good day!

I personally appreciate the vid I’m having that particular issue I was tempted to do just that tack weld but wasn’t quite sure. Now that broken bolt won’t stand a chance he won’t know what welded him Lol 😂 thanks for sharing

Dude idk but somehow you gave me the courage and strength to do it 😵‍💫

I love your extractions. When I do that, I let it cool longer, and seem to get luckier!

I can hear my dad already yelling at you saying the pliers are backwards.... Got it out though. Kudos.

Very good. Iv done the same thang with a $80 Harber freight welder except I put a little weld and then I put a nut around it and then welded the weld to it

Good job on the down hole extraction! On the other, I would have tried the double nut routine but tap a few times with a hammer (after double nuts) to shock the broken stud loose. P.S. COOL cars on your intro!

Just used this vid and pro tips from here to take out 3 broken flush exhaust bolts... Worked like a charm.. Thank you..

They make a stud extractor, it use a camming action and costs about $15, that will save mangling your vise grip jaws and scratching up the block, and also work where you don't have space to swing pliers. I have had one for 30 years and I just mix some acetone and ATF, leave it for a few hours, and grab the bolt with the stud extractor. It's kind of heavy compared to a socket, but it works.

Just a tip... A vise grip is designed to turn in a counter clockwise direction to unscrew a stud. That way the tool progressively applies more pressure as it tightens up on to the stud. If you turn it clockwise the forces tend to lessen the bite on the stud.

I had a timing cover bolt break-in a Ford Windsor. Broke the bolt extractor in there and it took me six months to figure out how to get the hardened steel removed. I tried everything I could find. The best way to drill through hardened steel is with a masonry bit! They also cut through glass. I know that feeling of Victory when you finally get it removed

WELL DONE!! I didn't know the welding trick, but I have double nutted the expose thread, if long enough, before the demolishing vise grips method.

I've had recent experience with this annoying problem. One thing I thought of (later) was using red threadlocker (Loctite or equivalent) and a single nut on a broken stud. I had a broken timing belt idler bolt in a 2.2L Camry and also a leaking water pump. The water pump had the protruding studs. Using a double nut is another way to get those loose. I had the broken bolts pretty soaked in penetrating oil, Three-in-one and WD by the time I removed them. Get some oil on them and once they move at all they'll come out really easy. Usually. The idler bolt was below the surface of a large aluminum cover on the front of the engine. Had to use a grinding tool and a mirror to grind a little pit into it. The type of screw extractor I was using was able to bite into it and start it. I bought the car about a year ago and ended up fixing previous bad work or maybe the consequences of bad or neglected work on the part of the previous owner. He was a retired 28-year Air Force enlisted veteran. I don't think he did the work personally. He never missed an oil change though. It's a perfect engine at 157K. The most exciting part of the job was taking the city bus across town to go to the self-service wrecking yard and get factory-original hardware. They had a bus shelter right in front of the yard though. No wandering around looking for the bus stop on the way back.

Always turn in both directions and use penetrating oil

Thanks Bro - Im doing this tomorrow!!

I’m a licensed auto mechanic since 1974 I find the best way to get out studs is weld a nut on them if it’s recessed put some weld in the hole adding a bit let it cool add some more until you are above the surface put a washer on the weld then weld a nut to the washer and use a socket and a small impact wrench with an extension if you have room for that and vibration helps remove your stud .if the stud is above the head weld on a washer and a nut and use a wrench or a socket .it seems like the heat shrinks the studs and almost every stud that comes out has a coating on them that helps extraction.We are in the rust belt in Ontario see more than our share of rust .

I remember when i had my first beer! Man I'm cringing at that stud. you got to work it back and forth!

1:50 I've never done one of these, but... I've found with other studs that once you get the Vice Grips clamped on tightly, tapping it with a hammer in both tightening and loosening will sometimes break the 'seal' that it has with the dissimilar metals. Don't hit it with all your force, just tapping with medium forces back and forth can something break it free. It sounds like common sense but I've seen some very uncommon sense when it comes to removing broken bolts/studs.

I've been removing such from aluminum heads for fifty years, vicegrips are directional, and they grip better if used on the left, for removal, as to the other, I always put a nut, next size up, i.e., 3/8ths for a 5/16ths bolt, and weld through the hole. Grabbing a lump of weld can easily break off from pulling, rather than twisting, and a nut lets one turn without leverage out of centerline. I think I might have successfully removed a dozen or so broken studs using "ez outs". Using a left hand drill bit is also a good start, and if welding, having a hole improves the heating and corrosion breaking.

Patience is a must have with these jobs. Hurry impatiently and it's a certainty with jobs like this making the task far more difficult and even more time consuming. Lots of admirable patience shown in the removal of the first protruding broken stud. Even more than the broken stub sub-surrounding alloy head area. Agreed when successful, one of the most satisfying tasks working on cars and their engines. Finally, before undoing any nut, bolt or stud which has never been touched since it left the production lines, your experience makes you suspect it will be "frozen" or seized as we say over here in the UK. I use my best quality Hex-Sockets ( never bi-hex with their 12-points ) and tighten them a merest fraction before undoing. This done to break any signs of freezing or seized fastener. Doing this works and in recent times, means undoing old fasteners has far fewer problems than previously.

I just did mine. 5.7 Hemi. Used a 5/8 nut. Dremel around the threads and clean the break of rust. Build up a nub to weld to, clean the slag off, then tape the nut over it. Fill that right full of weld and wrench it out. The key is to get a good nub going. You want it in contact with the whole face of the stud so there is no weak joint. The heat from the weld usually breaks loose the seized threads. And clean the metal till it's immaculate.

its a good hack, seen it before. if they would only put a penny's worth of anti seize on manifold bolts, world would be a lot better

if there's enough thread sticking out you may be able to clean up the threads and double nut the stud. outside nut will lock the inside nut. Then you can use a wrench on inside nut.....that's worked for me.

FIRST hit the extended stud with a hammer to break it's hold on the threads and yes, you had the vise grips on backwards the first time. You can also BUY a set of spark plug socket looking tools that have different size holes in them, they have numerous knurled wheels inside and grab the stud when you turn it, must easier than vise grips. Best trick for the one below the surface is to weld a NUT on to the broken stud with a wire feed welder, hold the nut up against the whole with vise grips and shoot through the hole in the nut

Solid advice and demo sir! I like the air hammer 1/2” drive shaker made by Ajax 1130 and Mayhew 32029 then you use a wrench to work it back and forth just like you did. Cheers 🍻

Here's at tip to add.use a open end wrench 🔧 on the vise grips to give a easy spin.

Why not just thread a nut on to the exposed bolt and then tack weld it on. then use a wrench to remove it?

Vise Grips 6:58 are a great tool to grab bolts and other things. I have used it to remove flat headed screws from a heavy duty screen door. I had the grips for many years and they still Work great. A very good useful tool to get.

While that broken stud was hot after tack welding on it, you should have cooled it with a penetrating oil. The oil will wick up the threads while the bolt is still hot. Only do this in a well ventilated area because the oil will smoke like hell until the broken bolt is cooled. It works for me at least 9 out of ten times.

"Blaster" is a good penetrant. Spray and rocking helps the capillary action.

First of all, I would advise you to turn the vice grips around as they were made to work that way. Second, you can take a cutting torch and heat up the below surface bolt and let it get yellow hot or as much as it takes to allow the torch to cut metal then hit the oxygen and the remains of the bolt will fly out as molten metal. Problem solved. Would also work on the proud one as well.

Heat it up with a torch first then try removing it. But this one is a great lesson learned. Thanks for sharing your struggles and experience. You cannot buy experience

This is all well and good. Those procedures work and are real easy on an engine stand. Not so easy sometimes when doing this in frame.

Placing a large washer over the stud before clamping the vice grips will prevent gnarling the head surface.

Pro tip. Don’t snap them in the first place. Run the engine to operating temp, crack the nuts loose. Everything comes out with heat.

I've done this for years on ATVs & anything really ... I never hit the bolt as hard as you did with the welder but it could be our machines are different ... but non the less it really works great

Well done. I know these tricks, too, but last time they did not work on my T3 engine support. I had to drill and cut new threads... But I guess, the reason, why it did not work was, that the cast part is made of GGG. So I am really jealous on your success! 😀

try doing that with the engine in the car lol

I don't know if it was mentioned elsewhere in the comments below but another method used to remove broken studs that usually works really well, especially if there is still a piece of the stud sticking out, even if it's quite short is to heat the stud with a torch for about a minute or so and then immediately stick a piece of parafin canning wax or even wax from a candle onto the stud and let the stud melt the wax. What you can't see happening is the wax is being sucked into the threads, maybe because of the cooler metal around the heated stud. Don't ask me why but when you put your vise grips on the stud it almost always come right out, and usually quite easily. For those studs that have broken below the surface, follow the weld proccess' mentioned in the comments and then apply the wax before attempting to turn it. I'm told that this method was developed by a mechanic trying to remove a broken stud from an exhaust manifold. I have seen this work myself a few times. If you don't have a welder this might be a another option.

I have several sizes of metal tubing ...I use a piece about an inch long in your case .. I put it in the hole to the broken bolt and then fill it in the middle... No damage to the threads because the wall of the tubing is there... Works every time.... You are a very accurate welder.. I could not do that.

you're right. that is a sweet feeling to see them threads. the bolt is garbage. the threads are gold.