Gotta Pull a Head: Anything to Do While I'm In There?

Having no skill totally sucks.  I have a broken exhaust manifold bolt on the rear of the driver's side; it's the second to last bolt.  It was broken just below the surface.  My buddy just gave me my welder back the other day so I decided to try the trick of welding a washer and nut to the broken stump and then turning it out.  But, I've never welded before, not even a blob.  After trying to get a nut and washer welded on to the stump a few times and just making a frustrating mess of the operation, I'm going to lick my wounds and pull the head and see what I can do then.  It sucks because I just put on a fresh intake gasket right before this.  This totally blows.  

Since I need to pull the head, is there anything else I should do while I'm there?

Bull wrote:

Having no skill totally sucks.

Time to put the tools down.  You're trying to weld and you've never welded?  There is no need to pull the head off to remove a broken exhaust bolt.  That makes no sense at all.  If you take off the head, you're making a small job into a big job.  Bring it to a qualified mechanic, it's not that bad of a job for them.  I just had the same bolt R & R'd, on my Caprice Wagon by a qualified mechanic.  It was about $200 to $225, and worth every penny.  He knew how to do it.

Tom C.

Hi Tom,

Well, it was either using the welder that I've never used before or buying a right angle drill and using left-hand drill bits and EZ outs, which I've also never used before. I reckon either way would have ended with me drinking a beer and feeling disgusted.

I have read on the forums about guys pulling their heads to deal with these broken bolts. I'd rather not, of course.

I can't just bring the car to a mechanic. All kinds of stuff is going on with it as I try to tackle a list of projects before winter. Intake vacuum hoses are off, exhaust is off, car is up on stands so I can wire wheel parts of the underside etc.

Bull wrote:

Hi Tom,

Well, it was either using the welder that I've never used before or buying a right angle drill and using left-hand drill bits and EZ outs, which I've also never used before.  I reckon either way would have ended with me drinking a beer and feeling disgusted.

I have read on the forums about guys pulling their heads to deal with these broken bolts.  I'd rather not, of course.

I can't just bring the car to a mechanic.  All kinds of stuff is going on with it as I try to tackle a list of projects before winter.  Intake vacuum hoses are off, exhaust is off, car is up on stands so I can wire wheel parts of the underside etc.

Here's what i would do if i were in your shoes,.
I,d phone every local mobile welder and explain your situation,. i,d try and bond with the right guy, get a quote,. offer cash beer and BBQ for a saturday afternoon appointment, these studs do come out easy with a mig welder,. i have shown pics of numerous studs and bolts i,ve removed,. below flush lt1's are no different,.
A mig welder is what is needed

Good luck,..

I agree with Nick. If you can't find someone to come to you, try to find a welding shop you can drive to. I took one my cars to an industrial welding shop a while back to get a broken bolt out. I just brought a ratchet set. The guy charged me $10. He was done in no time.

Out of curiosity, what is a capable welder going to do with the mess I have made, essentially filling in the bolt hole w/the broken bolt somewhere under my pigeon crap?

That pigeon crap won't stick to the cast head, so don't worry about it. Hold a nut up to it and fill the center with weld, let it cool, and turn it out.

Where do you live?

The pigeon doo-doo seems to be sticking at least a little bit to the head. I'll try knocking it off tomorrow.

I'm in western MA.

concentrate the wire on to the nub sticking up,.lots of heat,. and blob it onto the end,.
let it cool, repeat then take a hammer and hammer a nut over it, the fill the hole ,. it,s gotta be hot!

it'll come out just fine,.short bursts, lots of heat,. hear what i,m saying here?

then take a pair of vice grips and start unscrewing, it'll only move a little at first and stop,. screw it back in and wiggle it back and forth, as soon as it goes tight in one direction reverse direction and repeat and repeat,.

you have lots to work with there,. keep trying,.the mess'll come off the head AFTER you get the bolt out,.

Nick

I understand why you just cant drive it to a shop, so someone is going to have to get
to your garage. Clean the area as best you can,make it as easy for the guy as possible.
Yep,I believe the welding trick will work,but it must be done by skilled hands. I would also
spray some penetrating oil on what remains of the stud,it cant hurt. Dont pull the
head ,only as a last resort. Dont let happen what happened to my neighbor, he BROKE A SPARK PLUG on his Harley,so he thought the best way to get it out was to drill it,well once he drilled it,
the plug didnt come completely out,plus he damaged the spark plug threads by drilling even further. Then he called me for help. ed

On a related note, the bolt hole to the right of the port I am working next to is free and clear. I just assumed this was the end hole for my manifolds and that no bolt had been installed (I was missing the last two bolts when I took the manifold off). But, that hole isn't for a stock manifold, is it? It's for a header? That means that the sort of faint outline of a hole that I see at the very end of the head is the manifold bolt hole...with a cleanly broken bolt in at flush with the surface?

don't put penetrating oil on it while you are trying to weld, it'll contaminate the weld.

My mechanic said he might need a week to get my head back to me. He called me less than two days after I dropped it off saying it was ready. Best $24 I have spent in recent memory. This is what I wish like crazy I could do!

I suppose we could throw out an "I told you so", but that would just be silly. Glad they're out, and good deal on the price, too!

May as well throw a cam, springs, and rockers in it... you've done all the hard work.