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Snapping studs?

Dadkota

Dadkota

New member
I bought the ZZP power log a few days ago and I was waiting to put it in while I read some write ups. After reading them, my question for you guys is what are my chances at snapping an exhaust stud? My car has 170k miles, and I live in the North East so things rust up here.
 


when i did my headers i could care less if they broke. kinda hoped they would all snap off. but only two snapped one on each cross over flange.

in your case, id spray the nuts and studs with you fav penetrating oil for a few days and nights, then wire brush the stud threads to get the rust off.

re spray the bolts warm up the car then try to crack em free. hot nuts tend to come off better.
 
Tighten slightly first to break the seal.
get header bolt kit. I did. No more studs getting in the way for plug changes
 


I know it's a different car but my Stealth has 195k miles and has been sitting for 4.5 years and I didn't snap a single exhaust stud when I removed my manifolds.
 
The chances are slim. This from someone that has done this first hand a lot of times. Out of all the 3800's I've worked on, I've had two studs going into the head that broke and one of those was broken when it arrived. The bolts you want to concern yourself with are the crossover to manifold bolts. Loosen one a turn or two and then loosen the other equally until there isn't pressure on them.

And ...If they do break they go into the manifold you are taking off, so no worries.

I never worry about taking off exhaust into the head studs. They are made of good metal and not Ford studs. If you have concerns, take them out while the engine is still warm from driving.
 
I just put a set of SD headers in last week. My car has 118k miles on it and the only thing that gave me trouble was one cat back flange bolt, which you won't be dealing with.

I was worried about the exhaust studs as well, but they came out easy. Same with the crossover bolts. Just for peace of mind I sprayed PB Blaster all over them for a few days before and had zero issues taking them out and reusing them.
 
I gotta say thanks for the tips and good stories, i read horror story after horror story of snapping the studs and I got really paranoid of doing the manifold.
 
the bolts in the heads come right out. had my headers off twice now.

a 13 mm ratcheting wrench is you best friend for them bolts.
 


I put off my install for like 4 months for the same reason. Once you get into it you realize it's no big deal. Just a bunch of bolts/nuts.
 
nothing has snapped on the engine at all so far. and ive been deep into it.

only bolts that can be a problem are the cross over bolts, down pipe bolts and the cat back bolts. the threads rust and all the heat kills them. ive replaced my cat back bolts a few times, 90% of the time i just cut the bolts off and put a new one in there.
 
Luckily the catback and downpipe were put in a few months ago professionally haha so I only need to deal with the front manifold
 
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