You are finishing up the last stages of your project build or completing a garage day, when it happens. One of your friends who isn’t quite as handy as you are, snaps and breaks your exhaust stud. While you don’t completely lose your cool, broken exhaust studs are definitely a very aggravating problem to have.
A broken exhaust stud will result in exhaust leaks, loss of power and your car sounding like a lawnmower. Also the exhaust leak may cause damage to your exhaust gasket and / or exhaust manifold. Needless to say, it’s definitely a good idea to know how to repair a broken exhaust stud, which is what we’ll be showing you today in a 1996 Acura Integra GS with a B18A engine in it.
When your exhaust stud breaks, you may get lucky and have it break with part of the stud still sticking from your cylinder head. This can easily be fixed by using a pair of channel locks or vice grips to back out the broken stud.
For those who aren’t so lucky, we’ll be showing you how to use a Easy-Out kit to remove the broken stud.
We’ll also be showing you how to retap and re-insert the right bolt to fix your broken exhaust stud. Begin our how to repair a broken exhaust stud DIY guide by disconnecting your negative terminal on your battery.
The tools you may need to complete this job
- Propane torch
- Electric Drill – Preferably with variable speed
- Vise-Grip Pliers
- penetrating oils – Blast Away
How to Repair a Broken Exhaust – Penetrating Sprays and lots of luck
Before we begin our how to how to repair a broken exhaust stud DIY article, let’s touch on penetrating oils for just one second. It’s a common mistake for many enthusiasts or modders to reach for a pick when they break an exhaust stud. Using the pick, sometimes you may be able to back out the broken stud by inserting the pick and turning the stud out.
Unfortunately, what most people end up doing is damaging or destroying the rest of the threads in the process. Instead, we recommend a shot of Blast Away or similar product that’s advertised to penetrate the stud.
Spray the penetrating oil in question directly into the broken exhaust stud hole. You want to get as much of this fluid into the hole so that it can work it’s magic. For best results, you may want to let the spray and oil sit overnight don’t forget to spray liberally and let it sit to do it’s work. Once you think you have sufficiently lubricated the broken stud using this spray, use your pick to carefully try and back the screw out.
If this method does not work or doesn’t work the first time, don’t get discouraged. Continue to spray and try to back out the broken stud using a pick, because this is the best way to remove this broken exhaust stud.
Penetrating oils aside, let’s move onto the next part of our how to repair a broken exhaust stud guide, which is using the Easy-Out. You can elect to purchase a complete kit, or simply an extractor from the kit.
How to Repair a Broken Exhaust – Easy Out
Before beginning to use Easy Out to remove your broken B18 exhaust stud, you will need to use a metal punch to put a dimple in the stud itself. This dimple will allow you to better aim for the center of the bolt. If you are working on your B18 in the car as we are, you will be challenged for space no matter what your car has for accessories.
To make this part easier, you may or may not want to remove your Integra radiator and fan shroud / fan assembly.
Using a drill bit that’s just slightly bigger than your Easy Out extractor, drill out the center of the broken stud. Make sure to drill slowly and take your time, do not wander or allow the drill bit to drill into the sides of the exhaust stud hole.
Now take your Easy Out kit and remove the extractor, which should be an odd looking bit like this.
If you have a small enough hand drill that can squeeze between your B18 engine and the radiator support, you’ve got half the battle figured out already. If not, you’re going to be doing all kinds of things to make sure that you can fit a drill in place. The most important thing to note is that you want this hole to be straight and true.
If your drill isn’t quite perpendicular with the surface of your exhaust ports, stop now and get a better angle before drilling. If your Easy Out kit came with specific instructions for your extractor bit, follow those instructions. If not you will want to insert the extractor carefully, and screw into the broken exhaust stud slowly.
You can use a hammer to gently start the extractor by hammering it into your pilot hole. Then using your Easy Out hand tool or a open ended wrench, rotate the extractor counter-clockwise to the hole. This extractor will be tightening itself into the broken bolt or stud, as the threads are reversed. Make sure not to put any weight laterally on the extractor, and do not attempt to remove until you have seated the extractor fully.
Remember, you don’t want the extractor to bottom out or reach the end of your broken exhaust stud. Make sure that the extractor is going in smoothly and firmly, but do not exceed the length of your broken stud.
If you’ve gotten this far in our How To Repair a Broken Exhaust Stud DIY article, you are just about done with our guide. Continue to firmly rotate the extractor counter clockwise until the broken stud has been removed. You can then move onto to replacing the exhaust stud in your Acura Integra with a B18 engine with another M10x1.25, or a bolt with the same pitch thread.
Have any questions about our how to repair a broken exhaust stud DIY article, leave them for us below.