Sheared Bolt On Exhaust.

[Bobslob]

About 2hrs. ago I was board and I kept thinking about how my truck would sound without a muffler. So i went out to the garage and got the wd-40 and sprayed the two bolts on the flange behind the cat with a pretty good shot and let it set for half an hour. Then i got on one with a big breaker bar and proceded to shear the bolt off right behind the nut.

Now I need suggestions on how to fix my dumb A$$ mistake.

[J45p3r]

I snapped both of those when I installed my Cat-Back. Only way to get them out is to get them hot, glowing cherry red hot. I used a propane torch held against the back side of the stud until it turned red, then I popped it out with a hammer and 1/4" extension. Don't let it fall on you though, it'll hurt like a mofo.

 

Once I got them out I took what was left of one of them to NAPA and got a good quality nut/bolt that fit in the hole. Now I won't have to worry if I snap one again in the future.

[asilverblazer]

Ditto, mine sheared off on my old truck, I had to take it to an exhaust shop. They basically did the same thing.

[Bobslob]

Thanks, Ill have to go try that in awhile.

[Bobslob]

Well I went out to try to get the other one off and guess what... the fricken nut was so rusty, I stripped it with a tiny little rachet.

Please help, this thing is pissing me off.

[J45p3r]

Now you're in a pickle. Only thing I can think is to slide a saw (sawzall maybe?) between the flanges and cut the other stud (if there is room).

[AFD256]

I snapped both of those when I installed my Cat-Back. Only way to get them out is to get them hot, glowing cherry red hot. I used a propane torch held against the back side of the stud until it turned red, then I popped it out with a hammer and 1/4" extension. Don't let it fall on you though, it'll hurt like a mofo.

 

Once I got them out I took what was left of one of them to NAPA and got a good quality nut/bolt that fit in the hole. Now I won't have to worry if I snap one again in the future.

 

 

Well I went out to try to get the other one off and guess what... the fricken nut was so rusty, I stripped it with a tiny little rachet.

Please help, this thing is pissing me off.

 

Did you try heating it like he said to red hot and bang in out with the extension? why/how did you strip it?

[AcetyleneDreams]

Well, there are lots of ways to do this, but it depends on what kind of tooling you have access to. I can tell you that none of them are pretty nor will they be easy to do.

 

First, you can drill them out. Best thing to do is cut an end flat so you can center punch it and then take a drill to it and drill it out.

 

Second, you can try heating the joint and knocking it out. Only heat it enough to expand the flange and make the studs plyable. Then, knock them out with an extension and a ball peen hammer

 

Third, you can try and get a pry bar in the joint, pry it open, and get a sawzall in there and cut the studs. I would imagine that you'd have a hard or impossible time with this, but I don't know. It depends on if you have loosened the joint through your prior endeavors.

 

Lastly, and I do mean lastly, if you are good with a cutting torch, you can heat the studs and blow them out. Just heat them up, and center the center hole of the cutting tip with the stud and give it a blast. I have done this before, but I'm pretty good with a torch. (lots of practice) Most likely, it will be easier to cut out the joint and weld in a whole new one as opposed to this route.

 

Whatever you do, just be sure you use heat/spark shielding since you are so close to the engine. I know it's frustrating but you have to consider that now, if you do mess up the joint, try to ruin the back end of the exhaust so you can get a new Magnaflow or B&B kit.

 

Goo luck!

[Rolandd]

If one side is broken off but the other side is still holding take it in and let someone with a blue tipped wrench heat these out. If you want to take this on yourself you will need to cut the other stud off as suggested above and then heat both out. If you are confident in what you are doing go for it--it takes patience but is not that hard to do. If you are unsure, take it in while it is still (somewhat) connected so that you don't drag the intermediate pipe.

 

One note: if you are heating studs to push them out you will want to heat the flange, not the stud. Once the flange is warm it is fragile and can bend easily if you beat on it hard, so be careful.

[slowslug]

bump

[Bobslob]

Thanks for all of the replys guys, but I got in there with a sawzall with a long blade and just hacked at it for awhile and got it out. I'll try to get the ends out in the morning.

Thanks agian.