Oil in the water

the method Vince describes on Ford Garage works almost every time. Be sure to flood it with a good penetrant when its cool enough not to vaporize the oil, but still slightly warm so it will draw the penetrant down into the threads as it cools further. Using an air impact wrench has gotten some out for me that I know would have broken off again. Liquid Wrench , Kroil or a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF have been shown to be the best. WD40 is good water dispersant, but poor penetrating oil. By now the head is surely warped, so have it surfaced prior to replacing it. I would replace every stud at this opportunity. I prefer the grade 8 studs that are offered by many dealers.

for those reading this that have not heard about this method, here's the link to Ford Garage article on broken studs:

http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/studremoval.htm



The "don't drive it" advice did sink in and I am going to pull the head next week. I came across a great article on Ford Garage regarding welding a washer to the broken stud and then welding a nut to the washer. Love it! That is my plan of attack, as l don't care much for ez-outs. Welding is what I do for a living. Any advice as to which studs to purchase?
 
Another method that works for me (however, only when the threaded hole is open on the back side (in this case, to the water jacket)): drill through the center of the stud-all the way through and out the end. Drill as large as you can without hitting the threads. Take your cutting torch and heat the remaining shell of the stud good and red. Then hit the oxygen lever and burn the stud out. Whatever you do , stay on the oxygen until you're done. The crumbs will blow on out the hole you drilled so as you cut they will not blow back and mess everything up. The rust around the threads helps insulate the block so only the stud burns out, leaving the block threads intact. Just run a thread chaser down the hole and Voila!, you're good to go.
 
I guess my question about which studs to buy comes down to... Which ones are not made in China ? The vendors sell grade 5 and they sell chrome-moly ones. I thought that head bolts are usually grade 8, at least on modern iron.
 
I guess my question about which studs to buy comes down to... Which ones are not made in China ? The vendors sell grade 5 and they sell chrome-moly ones. I thought that head bolts are usually grade 8, at least on modern iron.

I went to Snyders and you are right about chrome moly studs. Once upon a time they offered grade 8. Larry Brumfield used to offer grade 8, rolled thread studs, but I'm not sure he still does, as he's not casting heads anymore. I would use the chrome moly rather than the grade 5 studs that are offered as standard. If you call Don and ask, he'll talk about why he offers chrome moly and whether or not its superior or similar to grade 8. Mc Master Carr claims their 8740 chrome moly is similar in strength to grade8.

what kind of car is that in your avatar? I went to your profile to see if it was named, and found out we have the same birthday, tho' years apart.
 
be aware of a sticky issue when it comes to Grade 8 anything. If you can only get to one side of a grade 8 fastener (such as a head stud), you could be in trouble if it breaks off. Regular welding will not 'stick'/bond properly to grade 8, you will need low-hydrogen wire to weld to it; else the nut you 'welded' on using the trick described in this thread by 2 different people will just break right off with no force at all. . Also, you cannot drill it.
I only use grade 8 where I can get to both sides.

I had to do an exhaust job on a TransAm for a customer who had misguidedly installed his manifolds with grade 8 bolts. Of course the one he broke was a rear one very hard to get to. I had to pull the motor and use a carbide die-grinder to get the broken piece out.
 
Pat. That picture is of my wife posing with my buddy's 1927 Cadilac at the Mystic Seaport show last fall. It's an amazing vehicle.

TBird. Excellent advice on all fronts. I will go with all new grade 5 studs and will have that head resurfaced for sure.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    78.7 KB · Views: 41
At this time, the removal of the head is looking like it could be more difficult than the removal of that broken stud. I'm expecting to give it the better part of a day and certainly not like pulling the head off of my T.

My intentions are to remove all the nuts, hit the studs with Kroil, and let it sit for a week. Then, fire the motor up and let it break the seal, hook a pair of half-ton falls to the first and fourth spark plug holes, apply a little "up pull", and smack oak wedges in to get it moving, being careful to miss the valves, and repeat the chain fall/ wedge attack.

Am I on the right track?
 
sounds good to me. i always use the 'tighten first' method on old nuts and bolts but remember you are not wanting to accomplish actual movement, just that 'clicckk' sound that tells you the rust has broken. You can try loosening first but if it doesn't wanna budge then try to tighten first. The nuts can actually be heated with a torch since they are not at the level of the block, and you are gonna have the head shaved anyway.

Important thing is to not 'go animal' on them. Brute force will back fire everytime. Think physics and remember you have to be smarter than a frozen nut/stud.

Hey, that Mystic show is the best, isn't it!?? Prolly our fav show all yr.
We went for the first 10 yrs before we retired to Texas. I miss the friends I made there. for the first 5 yrs I brought the 1911 Stafford (last one left) that I was caretaker of, and then I brought my unrestored '28 Chevy Landau Coupe.
 
Back
Top