Removing Broken Manifold Bolts The Easy Way!

44 thoughts on “Removing Broken Manifold Bolts The Easy Way!”

1. It was my intention to go all the way with you folks and show you how to repair the chowdered up holes in this ol' Chevy. Like most projects the simple 5min job got stupid pretty quick so I made a part two but you'll have to wait till it's all edited. Stay tuned 😉
   -Eric O.

   Here is the welder I use running 0.030" wire with Ar/CO2 75/25 110v: https://amzn.to/3ok7eEe (and yes I know it is set up wrong and I did it all wrong)
   Here is the penetrating fluid that made the entire job possible: https://amzn.to/43eWk1f

2. One of a lot of people don’t know about these heads exhaust posts that they’re designed to crack and be difficult. I said engine builder. I rarely got a set without cracked exhaust bolts and on my own personal LS heads I put Healy coils in every exhaust and use stainless steel bolts. I never had to deal with this shit.

3. Could you use a stick welder for this. If you don't have a mig set up

4. Just to help a few who don't understand why this failure appears so much in LS engines.

   This is caused by heat cycling. A great fix would be to never start your engine. The issue has been around for as long as internal combustion engines. Chevrolet small blocks had about 90 million made over 50 years. They have the same issue.

   We see this in LS engines more as a result of production. The LS engine (gen 3/4) has over 110 million engines produced in just 18 years. With modern gaskets the clamping force needed to seal a manifold is greatly reduced so the bolt diameter has been reduced to match. What GM has done to address the issue is in the gasket material itself. The failure of the bolt by heat cycling cannot be stopped but the resulting gasket failure can be reduced by designing a manifold that does not need as much clamping force to hold the gasket. Modern MLS gaskets do this.

   Often but not always a single bolt failure does not cause an audibled leak. In this case there was a prior repair that was not performed correctly
   The broken bolts are often (but not always) found during disassembly. They have not addressed this further as the cost of warranty repair is much less than the cost of over engineering the manifold / gasket / bolt. a simply stronger bolt does not change the stresses of heat cycling. Hope this explanation helps

5. When assembling at factory they could have used ss studs on a aluminum head

6. Lol my dad says warsh also l

7. Warshington dc

8. Where are you located? I have a Chevy truck with the 5.3L engine. Have many problems.

9. freeall boss… does wonders!

10. Thanks!

11. Never heard anybody hope for a bolt to break.

12. Been watching you for a while and I finally have a tip for you. I do like the weld on nut, but I tweaked the process and I like it better.

    Forget the nut and just weld a heavy blob of weld onto the end of the stud. Then use a bolt extractor to remove. The blob gets the stud super hot and you don't need to heat with the torch.

    And the bolt extractor bites into the blob and lets you remove it easier.

    I've often had times where the weld broke off on the nut, but I've never had the blob of weld break off on the stud.

    And sometimes it's hard to hold a washer or nut on the stud and weld…or you over weld and can't get a socket on….but by just welding a blob and using a bolt extractor you don't have this issue.

    Give it a shot next time…

    Awesome videos!!!

13. Never thought I'd hear a mechanic say he wants to have a recessed broken bolt.

14. I love how you keep breaking out the WD just to tick people off! 😂

15. Stay away from WD-40 full blown jun%. Break Free or PB Blaster are way better choices. WD contains no lubricant of any kind. Don’t take my word for it. Look it up

16. Should do a video on stuck brake bleeders

17. WD. Yuck..blaster is better. I think

18. How do those poor schlubs without a welder get a broken bolt out?

19. Unfortunately it's not always that easy. In my 70 Impala I broke off 2 on driver side. welded a nut to them and they broke on the other side. Extreme rust won't budge. I had to drill and tap them. Broke all 6 of the bolts on the flange end. Had to drill and tap those also

20. Now I think you are just baiting Rainman Ray… He broke one off on a water pump and it looks like he has thrown in the towel and is buying the customer an entire replacement motor. I'm thinking there has to be at least 10 things he can try once he has the motor out and room to work before he buys an entire motor of unknown history.

21. Dude, please protect your eyes better, the UV from the arc that does the damage isn't visible and goes right through your eyelids. You don't want to risk corneal scarring or macular degeneration by the time you retire.

22. I never thought I’d here anyone wish for a bolt to break flush instead of proud.

23. Hope Rainman watches thishe m8ght learn why his welds dont hold. Lol

24. Does the 2004-2007 have the same problem?

25. Thumbnail looks like a mystical drop bear (koala).

26. Thanks for your videos Eric. I lost all fear to manifold jobs now. I use the welder trick every time now

27. Great demo

28. There is one man in Florida who feels the pain of this right now but on a Subaru water pump bolt. Been here before myself with b*stard stubborn brutes on old motorcycles. The struggle is real @RainmanRaysRepairs

29. Hmmmm, the video will not allow me to place in a saved folder. I own a 2007 2500 with a 6.0. I WILL need this video later.

30. Thank you for the revisit video! I attempted to do the weld the but Trick and it didn’t go so well and I know why now!

    1) I did not have the welder on “nuclear” to get the stud/bolt I was after to weld to the nut

    2) I didn’t heat up the area to help break up the crud in the threads!

    In the end, I was able to get things done but a bit more work and swearing was required.

    Thanks again for sharing your experience and knowledge. It does help me out a lot.

31. Eric O………..the only guy that can turn welding rusty junk into a sensual experience
    "Ohh that's a good feelin, baby it's happenin ohh yeah"
    😂😂😂😂

32. Congrats on 800k 🎉

33. I use a larger nut. Allows more weld time and a little of the weld goes down the stud. I guess the extra weld time adds more heat to the stud as I never heat the head, The nut being bigger allows more grip, more heat. Works for me. On some occasions I preheat the nut and stud and then weld. The wire literally melts into the stud for 100% positive penetration.

34. when it got squeaky I'm pretty sure it needed more WD

35. Giving away all the good old shade tree aka Junk yard Dogs mechanic tricks !!!!! Depth gauge love it bro been there done that since the 80 zzzzzzz😂😂😂😂😂

36. PSE of Shi# Chevy..

37. Do you have to disconnect the battery or anything before welding?

38. Eric, I see you’re using your OSHA approved welding contact lens 😂while welding…..

39. I've always had good luck with this method. After welding the nut on i give it a small 'love' tap with a small hammer. Seems to help. Good job Eric!

40. I didn’t hear it mentioned— don’t all electronics/ computers have to be disconnected before any welding on a newer vehicle?

41. I really like doing that on Chevy trucks because of that Fender wheel and remove an attire. It's better than a ford v ten on a u haul

42. Rainman had no luck extracting a broken bolt the other day from a Subaru. He didn’t do all the steps you did though. Interesting

43. Like videos

44. Slicker than moose snot on a frozen fishing pole.

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