Uh oh.... header issues....

well i tried to take the headers off today so they could be ceramic coated. I sprayed em down first to loosen some of the corrosion. Most of the nuts came off easy, but a few pulled the entire screw out with them, and one snapped off completely. My question is, they look like they just have screw shafts coming out of the headers, that you then put the ring over, then tighten the nut down. If i were to take the screw shafts off completely, could i replace them with bolts instead? or is there a reason that its a shaft with a nut??

Those are studs. You could replace them with a bolt as a temporary fix, but that is a "limp home" fix, and a poor one at that. What you need is:



It is item number 9.
Part number: 95617-08625-00

Most bikes use studs with nuts instead of bolts, some cars too. I can't think of any off the top of my head that use bolts, but someone else here might know.

The big issue is getting that broken stud out. Is there any of it sticking out?
There are a number of scenarios that may be require to get this stud out. Don't know if you would be able to drill a straight enough hole and get that small an Easy-Out in there to turn it out and you will have to get a penetrating oil in the threads and shock the stud. Then warm the surrounding area before trying to turn it out with the Easy-Out. You'd be surprised what a little heat will do! You might use one of those commercial heat guns pointed into that exhaust port so you don't burn paint off the head. If you still have some stud sticking out you should get a stud removal tool and proceed with the same process, only, no drilling.
The best of luck to you and I think I know how you feel so my heart goes out to you man. Just take your time. Go get a friend to help pop beers for you...Hahaha!

YamahaMAXdRPMs said:

well i tried to take the headers off today so they could be ceramic coated. I sprayed em down first to loosen some of the corrosion. Most of the nuts came off easy, but a few pulled the entire screw out with them, and one snapped off completely. My question is, they look like they just have screw shafts coming out of the headers, that you then put the ring over, then tighten the nut down. If i were to take the screw shafts off completely, could i replace them with bolts instead? or is there a reason that its a shaft with a nut??

Click to expand...

If you were to use a bolt straight into the aluminum block....... what happens if you over torque the bolt? If you put a stud in, with the right kind of locktite, there is almost no load on the block's threads when you tighten up the header collet. The nut you use to put tension on the ring, doesn't turn the shaft going into the block.

There's a lot of heating and cooling that occurs on the header and around the exhaust ports..... lots of potential for accelerated corrosion too. The less time spent spinning things into and out of the block in that area, the better.

RJ2112 said:

If you were to use a bolt straight into the aluminum block....... what happens if you over torque the bolt? If you put a stud in, with the right kind of locktite, there is almost no load on the block's threads when you tighten up the header collet. The nut you use to put tension on the ring, doesn't turn the shaft going into the block.

There's a lot of heating and cooling that occurs on the header and around the exhaust ports..... lots of potential for accelerated corrosion too. The less time spent spinning things into and out of the block in that area, the better.

Click to expand...

That makes alot of sense... thanks!! ill try to get the broken one out and maybe find some new nuts to use instead of those corroded ones. :thumbup:

So yeah, this just happened to me too. I noticed the nuts corroding a little, and thouhgt I'd be proactive and order new ones. The first 2 came off fine. The thrid one tricked me... I thought the socket just slipped off the nut, but I was wrong... the nut and stud snapped off. I am incedibly unhappy. I didn't soak them first, warm them up, etc. I didn't think it would be that easy to break them. It is flush with the pipe flange.

So, do I take the other nuts off super carefully etc, all just to see if a tiny bit is left? Or do I have to drill now and use an extractor?

Also what happens if I start the engine as-is? The other nut is still on that flange.

cap'n said:

Also what happens if I start the engine as-is? The other nut is still on that flange.

Click to expand...

The header will not be sealed against the exhaust port. It's possible you wouldn't see any leakage right away, but it's there....

Short term not much would happen, but I would not want to leave it that way for more than a few days. Too easy to burn a valve.

cap'n said:

So yeah, this just happened to me too. I noticed the nuts corroding a little, and thouhgt I'd be proactive and order new ones. The first 2 came off fine. The thrid one tricked me... I thought the socket just slipped off the nut, but I was wrong... the nut and stud snapped off. I am incedibly unhappy. I didn't soak them first, warm them up, etc. I didn't think it would be that easy to break them. It is flush with the pipe flange.

So, do I take the other nuts off super carefully etc, all just to see if a tiny bit is left? Or do I have to drill now and use an extractor?

Click to expand...

Take it all apart. Trying to do it half arsed is not going to end well. Getting to the bit of stud to remove it will be much less complicated without the head pipes in the way.

Weeeell ok I guess. I'll pull the rest off as carefully as I can, get the header out of the way, and then extract the broken stud and replace it. So I'll need to order the stud(s) now, and then find a tool locally. Guh.

YamahaMAXdRPMs said:

well i tried to take the headers off today so they could be ceramic coated. I sprayed em down first to loosen some of the corrosion. Most of the nuts came off easy, but a few pulled the entire screw out with them, and one snapped off completely. My question is, they look like they just have screw shafts coming out of the headers, that you then put the ring over, then tighten the nut down. If i were to take the screw shafts off completely, could i replace them with bolts instead? or is there a reason that its a shaft with a nut??

Click to expand...

Save yourself alot of money and trouble.... don't try to remove the broken stud..just load up the bike and take it to a shop and let a pro handle it...I have had to repair alot of bikes owners have tried to work on themselves,and the deeper they got into it the more it cost them for me to put it back together.... I'm just sayin.... but its your bike,and your desision... good luck!! :BLAA: :rockon:

Also, I'd put some anti-seize on the stud when putting it back into the block. Aluminum and steel don't mix well (tend to seize)...

So I've got all 8 nuts off, and the exhaust flanges are off (dangling around the pipes down where they group together), and I have about half an inch of stud poking out. I drilled into it and started an extractor, but it too snapped off inside the stud. Now there's a chunk of high carbon steel in there, too hard for me to drill into. But there's enough of it poking out above the engine block that I still feel like with the pipes out of the way I could get channel locks of the stud and get it out.

How in the hell do you guys get your pipes loose? I have the bolt un-done back behind the cat converter, and the clamp back tyhere is loose too, so I should be able to wiggle the headers free, right? But there's zero play in the pipes as they exit the engine block.

cap'n said:

So I've got all 8 nuts off, and the exhaust flanges are off (dangling around the pipes down where they group together), and I have about half an inch of stud poking out. I drilled into it and started an extractor, but it too snapped off inside the stud. Now there's a chunk of high carbon steel in there, too hard for me to drill into. But there's enough of it poking out above the engine block that I still feel like with the pipes out of the way I could get channel locks of the stud and get it out.

How in the hell do you guys get your pipes loose? I have the bolt un-done back behind the cat converter, and the clamp back tyhere is loose too, so I should be able to wiggle the headers free, right? But there's zero play in the pipes as they exit the engine block.

Click to expand...

On my 07, there's a bolt just forward of the O2 sensor that bolts the header to the frame, did you get that one? The head is on the kick stand side (left).

Once that bolt is out and the main header pipe loose from the rest, the rear should drop down an inch (might be sticky from carbon build up) or so and then the header move forward slightly out of the recess...

Watch for the round copper exhaust gaskets falling out from the head..

Hope this helps...

Yep, I got that bolt out. The nut is captive on the other side... that bolt is loose, and the band clamp above it I loosened as well. So I need to work that loose and pull the pipe DOWN, so that I can work the header pipes out of the engine?

I've never pulled the header, but its either that or pull the cat upwards out of the way. I didn't see anything else holding the two together.

I know the nut is captive but the bolt itself, that goes to the captive nut, is off correct?.

From workling on previous bikes, I've found some exhausts difficult to come apart due to carbon build up. If you've done all the above, some "Liquid wrench" sprayed where the cat meets the main header may help loosen the joint. Some taps underneath with a piece of wood (anyting soft) and a hammer may loosen it enough to come off.

Yep again, that nut is off.

So here are some close-ups of the offending little bastard. You can see the "tooth filling" of high carbon steel left from the broken extractor bit. I'm going to buy some PB Blaster and soak it for days before I do anything else. Hopefully between that, and getting the pipes down out of the way, I can get it out of there.

Getting that one out will likley need heat and a stud extractor. Best to let someone with experience do it. If the stud breaks off flush it becomes "A LOT" more difficult to fix and you may ruin the head.

You have plenty to grab onto once the header is out of the way.

I agree, use lots of PB blaster. I would also use a heat gun on both the bolt and surrounding aluminum. Some slight taps as well on the end of the offending stud would help loosen it. It it doesn't want to come out with moderate force, bring to someone more experianced.

As stated above, you don't want it busted off flush, especially with the broken easy out inside..

I think I have a plan. Heat and oil for days and days, plus gentle tappin' (done some already), then a freshly-filed set of vice grips and I give it medium power... if it doesn't come along, then I punt. (Punt = bolt it all back together, limp to a shop, hand them my credit card, walk home, hope they're gentle.)