Broken exhaust manifold bolts what now?

Ok so after pulling the stock manifolds I have 2 broken head bolts from the factory. The front bolt on the driver side is broken off thank god the shank is still poking out of the head, i might actually be able to get some vise grips on it. But the other bolt is the read bolt on the passanger side, yes the most pain in the ass bolt out of the whole bunch. As soon as i put the slightest amount of pressure on it the damn thing broke. SO how in the hell am i suppose to get this damn thing out of the head, its in the back where you cant get a drill or anything else in there. Do i pull off the head? if so i might as well freaking put my other heads, on and buy a fugging cam to go with it. This is really pissing me off.. Any advise guys......... Looks like I will not make it to the SAR meet at the rate im going which is backwards...... If i do a cam swap imma need some help to make sure i do this damn thing correctly.......:(

You can get it out in a day with some help. It takes some weird tools and some experience....and odd combinations of both sometimes.

Please tell me you don't really have broken head bolts....

well if you were closer i'd help ya, do you have the cam? if so you might as well pull the head, take it to a machine shop and have them extract it, if you dont wanna take any chances on messing the head up ...

My bad it is exhaust manifold bolts not head bolts. I have an extra set of heads sitting on the shelf with new springs, just gotta go get a valve job done... But if i pull then whole upper end of the motor off might as well put in a cam????????

Well.....the top doesn't have to come off an LS to change cams...just the front. But the intake takes 9 minutes to remove so pulling the head now that the manifold is off won't take long. 10 long and 5 short head bolts.

i hear ya GG just thinking if imma do all this other stuff to the engine now might as well throw a cam in her while im at this crap... ALWAYS SOMETHING

Yes, I would do it all at once.

bolt extractor tools from a place like Harbor Freight are INEXPENSIVE, and work GREAT. I bought a longblock that has three snapped header bolts still in the head. I have a kit to remove 'em.

just bite the bullet and do your cam swap and **** now. your going to want to do it anyways. might as well have it for SAR and have some fun with the truck! it really wont take you that long to do a cam swap and such! get a buddy take a weekend and youll be set to go! and happier in the end. good luck bud!

ITS WAY EASIER THAN YOU THINK....

I had the same thing, broke off right at the head, and was on the passenger side rear. Borrow a welder and weld onto the end of the bolt, you will most likely have to do it a couple times. but then you can turn it out with a vice grips. i attached a picture of it below. Hope it helps.

http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/90/head%20bolt.JPG

LOL I've seen someone do that with an arc welder.

thats what I do, too, but I put a nut there to get ahold of after welding rather than just a nub.

I wasted 2 days and lots of money on tools top get one bolt out. That mother bucker is still in the head on that engine. I replaced that engine with an LQ9 because of that bolt.

Yeah Brian--if you have a set of fresh heads with new valvetrain components, then swap heads. When doing so, spend the extra $20 or so to get ARP head studs. And just go with GM head gaskets. I really wouldn't waste the time to try and extract those broken bolts if you have the other heads ready and waiting.

BUT if you keep them on there, you will need to remove the front pass wheel and inner fender liner to get to the rear pass header bolt. That is the best way to get at it...

I was a machinist for the air force for 13 years and probably removed 50 broken fasteners a week.

By far the easiest way is to use a left handed drill bit if you can get to it. The cutting pressure will loosen the fastener 95% of the time and back it out with the drill bit so make sure you are drilling perfectly true to the centerline of the bolt or it will break the drill bit when it comes out.

The other 5% of the time you will need to completely drill out the center of the fastener (leaving the threads only) and pick the remnants of the broken fastener out of the hole. With practice this can be done without messing up the threads in the parent material.

If you mess up the threads in the parent material most times it can be fixed with a Heli-Coil. Some times the hole has to be welded up and re-drilled / tapped when a bolt is sealed to the threads like into a water jacket.

I say pull the wheel & inner fender and try to drill out the broken bolt. This will get you on the road in a couple hours at the most. You can then acquire all the parts and pieces you need for the head & cam swap and do it when you have more time.

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Originally Posted by 68 TT

I was a machinist for the air force for 13 years and probably removed 50 broken fasteners a week.

By far the easiest way is to use a left handed drill bit if you can get to it. The cutting pressure will loosen the fastener 95% of the time and back it out with the drill bit so make sure you are drilling perfectly true to the centerline of the bolt or it will break the drill bit when it comes out.

The other 5% of the time you will need to completely drill out the center of the fastener (leaving the threads only) and pick the remnants of the broken fastener out of the hole. With practice this can be done without messing up the threads in the parent material.

If you mess up the threads in the parent material most times it can be fixed with a Heli-Coil. Some times the hole has to be welded up and re-drilled / tapped when a bolt is sealed to the threads like into a water jacket.

I say pull the wheel & inner fender and try to drill out the broken bolt. This will get you on the road in a couple hours at the most. You can then acquire all the parts and pieces you need for the head & cam swap and do it when you have more time.

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There is no substitute for the experience in this area. You make it sound easy because you done it so many times. It is not easy for someone that has never done it. Me for instance.

It's gonna be tough to get a left handed drill bit in there unless you have access to a small right angle drill.

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Originally Posted by GasGuzzler

It's gonna be tough to get a left handed drill bit in there unless you have access to a small right angle drill.

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You are soooo correct. I bought one after I had screwed mine up too bad. I still have that thing. I'll never give it up.

http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index....ROD&ProdID=380

Probably wont be much help but saw it on television last night and thought about getting a set.

EDIT: Found out Ace Hardware carries them if you have one near. About 20 bucks.

Imma try the welder method first since I do have a small MIG welder at the house. IF that fails then I will see where it goes from there.

That tool looks like a combination of a left hand drill bit on one end and an easy-out on the other.

Nice tool to have on hand. Thanks for the link.

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Originally Posted by Slimsilverado

Imma try the welder method first since I do have a small MIG welder at the house. IF that fails then I will see where it goes from there.

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If you try the welding method first, you will probably preclude any trys at drilling. Then the head will have to come off to repair.

Im more confident that I can weld a nub on the end and wrench it out of there, the bolt is broken right at the edge of the head so it wont take much, if I *** the head up it just give me a reason to cam the damn thing and get my other heads installed...

Its going to come right out i had the same problem.

Yep. Heat from the weld will help.