Anybody have a good way to get it out. I'm helicoilimg now. I

So sick of the exhaust problems

if the engine is out of the car then a machine shop will remove it for $40-$75, sometimes that's just simpler when it comes down to time and tooling. call around and it's not hard to find one that'll do it. one of our down under members listened to that advice just a week or two ago and a local shop did it for $25 or $35. well worth it.

 

if you have any material to work with soak it first in penetrant and then weld a nut on top of it so you can use a wrench.

 

left handed drill bits are your friend here. start with a tiny one to center it then bump up a size. left handed quality drill bits are hard to find though locally. you'll want something other than cheap junk to last. keep the drill running slow and lubricated with is more difficult since if you're working from underneath it'll tend to drip off and away from what you're dong. if you're on an engine stand you might avoid that issue some.

 

another option, though not as ideal, is to drill and tap a smaller hole within the stud that's left in the block. it is not ideal nor do i recommend it, but i've done it before in a pinch and it works. and if you have a tap and die set and drill bits you have everything on hand to do it or that stuff is easier to get at any local store.

 

do not use bolt extractors or EZOUTs they are not made for this - or if they work then the bolt is really easy to get out anyway. wedge and shear off one of those in there then you're really in for a nightmare.

Edited January 9, 201115 yr by grossgary

Forget where i saw this but its basically what was mentioned above:

- Clean off busted bolt in block to smooth.

- Spray with penetrating oil and let sit a bit.

- Weld a washer over top of the busted bolt (make sure the inner hole is smaller than the bolt your trying to remove or it could weld onto block instead)

- Weld a nut onto the washer.

- Spray more oil onto it and tap the nut to try and get it worked into the threads

- Remove.

Thanks guys. I went through this nightmare on my pickup. Snapped a headbolt. And then broke a ezout on that. Tall about a nightmare. I wish the engine was out of car. I Just had it out. Last week. I don't have a welder it sucks. Guess its tap and remove or sometging. Ill figure it out. I wish it was a better design. I'm going to helicoil all these very soon. No more issues

The original design is fine - the problem is the age and condtion of the studs/nuts that's at fault here. Rust happens - especially on exhaust. Sure they could have made the studs from SS but that's a slippery slope and no one could have afforded an econobox built with that kind of attitude.

 

I agree that a proper heli-coil job is in order. After that - replace the studs with one's for an EJ engine. Just go to the dealer and ask for an exhaust stud set for a '96 EJ22 Legacy. The EJ studs are a little over $1 each IIRC and are already the correct size and have a non-threaded portion on the end for gripping them when installing..... worth the few $. Most dealers stock them because they are common to replace.

 

They might be a little short so you might have to stick a peice of all-thread down in the hole to take up some space. When you do the heli-coil it will thread the AIS spacer as well so you will have threads all the way down that will grip the shorter studs.

 

GD

Edited January 9, 201115 yr by GeneralDisorder

What size helicoil should I use. Or What size are the legacy studs

EA and EJ studs are both 10mm x 1.25. That is the size heli-coil I always use.

 

GD

Oh OK cool. So I don't need to go up a size. To a sae like a lot of guys do. Thanks For your help

No - I wouldn't go up a size if you are going to heli-coil it. People go up a size when they are just going to tap into the aluminium. It's cheaper but I prefer the heli-coil method.

 

GD

cool. yeah steel threads are choice. I might just take the engine back out and do them all. Still undecided, seeing how its snowing right now,. or just get on my back in the street and go to work. Man i need a shop

Yeah that's rough doing it outside - but it's doable with the engine in place. Find some old carpet scraps or a large chunk of cardboard and lay it over some plastic - cut open garbage bags or whatever. As long as you can stay dry it can be done in relative comfort.

 

GD

I agree - definitely helicoil it. The original size helicoil is actually stronger than the old hole (done properly). I've had the best luck with a reverse drill bit, then helicoil kit and drill bit recommended on the kit packaging. Good luck.

Just got off the horn with Home Depot. Too my suprise they have Reverse drill bits, No one else around had them, This should make things a bit easier. Thanks for the advise fellas