4wheels4life

Need your guys tips and tricks on removing the passenger side front exhaust manifold bolt. Went to change out my passenger side exhaust manifold (cracked) and found that bolt was broke off and it is just under the surface a couple of threads. I just do not see enough room in there to get a drill in plus I have the sprintex supercharger on and have no access to it from the top. Please dont tell me the only way to get it out is to remove the head I have been trying to use a punch and tap it out but I am afraid it has somewhat seized from being steel into aluminum.

Battlefrog21

You can spray some stuff in there to try and break up whatever is freezing it -- kind of like they do for spark plugs. Unless you can tap it and remove or drill it, I don't see any other way besides taking it apart.

Battlefrog21

They also make mushroom head bits that are specialized for screw /bolt removal. You should be able to pick one up at Home Depot or lowes. They have a unique grip for that..

4wheels4life

Thanks for the tip battlefrog not only the bolt but since winters over I also found that the front drive shaft is throwing grease at the transfer case end boot and my ball joints are going bad

Battlefrog21

The DS should be ok for a while as long as you grease it periodically. Yea, the JK ball joints are garbage. The synergy HDs are well worth the money.

If you get the anti-seize spray, just let it sit for about 24 hours. Being that the bolt is seized, it may not even be able to penetrate but it's worth a shot. The plugs on my F150 broke off so I had to use an extraction tool and spray.

Mark Doiron

My driver side bolt in back was broken. I used a right-angle drill and a screw machine length drill bit for the smallest easy-out. It took patience and about an hour. Be very careful to not miss the broken bolt center, and to drill straight.

4wheels4life

Not really sure if there is enough room to even get a right angle drill in there as it is right behind the shock tower and there is some kind of pump that sits right in front of the engine right in line with the hole. But thanks for the replies as they are all good.

So-Cal4x4

DONT TRY TO DRILL IT!!! do you have a mig welder, or have a friend with one??? Weld a washer to the broken stud (might have to put a little bead on the stud first) then let it cool. Then weld a nut (fill it full) let it cool then pull the broken stud

Cost me $.72 to do 2 broken studs... Cost over $400 to remove the head and have it machined out (that included going and buying tools, gasket set and machine work)

4wheels4life

Thanks for the tip. Will I run the risk of blowing out the aluminum as the bolt is below the surface a good two threads when I weld the washer on to it? I do have a mig but I have never welded around aluminum so I do not know how it will react to the mig. I will have to give this a try.

Mark Doiron

When I replaced mine I was working at a friend's shop. And he is an extremely competent welder. And even he didn't want to try welding at the location where I was working due to access problems. That's why I spent the hour drilling it. Successfully, I might add. Welding is a technique we've successfully used at other locations (say, when a bolt broke on the differential where it was easily accessed for welding). Another technique I've successfully used to remove broke bolts is to use a die grinder to cut a horizontal slot across the top of the broken part, essentially making it into a screw head. Use a flat head screwdriver to back it out. If you get into the threads, you can use a welding torch to repair the damage anywhere a gasket may need to seal, but a little bit of cutting into the threads won't harm the hole's future use.