Head Stud Removal

Brent, now that is what I call a real gearhead "watched that during dinner." Please invite me to dinner at your house anytime.

Randall, that is a great video, well done.
 
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Great video Randall! Good technique. Proof that Heat is your friend!

One concoction I've learned works well as a penetrating oil is transmission fluid mixed about half/half with acetone. Also very effective.
 
I dabble in restoring and repairing mini old things including hit and miss engines and I also use the transmission fluid and 50% acetone mix!!!
 
I to use acetone and a t f , but I usually don't have the time to sit around and wait and it don't work every time
 
The model A stud bores are blind. The ones that go through into the coolant passages like the V8s can be real difficult. Applying heat to the stud is pretty effective on the A studs. Most folks just weld an old nut on a broken stud or weld a washer and then a nut. The heat is usually enough to break the corrosion or sealant bond depending on how the last guy put them in there and how long they have had to weather out the years since installation. The early V8s had studs and the late 8BA V8s had bolts. Those 8BA blocks like to eat those bolts so it's not unusual to have three or four break off. A person has to heat them several times to free up that little knob of corrosion where the threads go through into the water jacket. Heats a person's best buddy for those rascals.
 
For the past few years, I've been using a heat induction tool. It is an absolute game changer when it comes to removing studs. I haven't used my torch for this job since I've gotten it. It works that well.
 
Tim Ayers said:
For the past few years, I've been using a heat induction tool. It is an absolute game changer when it comes to removing studs. I haven't used my torch for this job since I've gotten it. It works that well.
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The induction heater tends to heat the intended piece more uniformly and a lot quicker. That can make a big difference on studs or broken off bolts where the cast iron block tends to absorb the heat out of the piece.
 
rotorwrench said:
The induction heater tends to heat the intended piece more uniformly and a lot quicker. That can make a big difference on studs or broken off bolts where the cast iron block tends to absorb the heat out of the piece.
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Induction heating heats the stud from within rather than from the surface inward as a torch does. Rust has about 20x lower thermal conductivity than cast iron, so the corrosion around the stuck stud actually helps keep the heat inside the stud.
 
alexiskai said:
Induction heating heats the stud from within rather than from the surface inward as a torch does. Rust has about 20x lower thermal conductivity than cast iron, so the corrosion around the stuck stud actually helps keep the heat inside the stud.
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My understanding is that the thermal expansion of the part is what breaks the rust bond between the parts.
 
Before you brake em off, heat with a torch or induction heater and then melt some kid's crayon on the stud at the block surface while its still hot.

No, any color will work, just don't get caught stealing the crayons.
 
I am trying to understand stud removal. If you heat the stud, it will expand into the block and become tighter. If you heat the block, the hole will get bigger and potentially release the stud. I usually stay away from these things.


What do you think is more correct? I have seen some videos.


Vic
 
Vic in E-TN said:
I am trying to understand stud removal. If you heat the stud, it will expand into the block and become tighter. If you heat the block, the hole will get bigger and potentially release the stud. I usually stay away from these things.


What do you think is more correct? I have seen some videos.


Vic
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You heat the stud and then let it cool before you extract it. The very small cycling of size that occurs tends to break the bonds of corrosion that hold the stud and block together.
 
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