broken exhaust manifold stud :( :(

[asbestos]

Well I've had my '95 240 for less than a month now and ever since I got it I would hear a "ticking" noise whenever I would give it some gas (it would kinda sound like a lawnmower exhaust). At first I thought it was the upper timing chain guide that alot of people have problems with but I could not hear the sound comming from the front of the valve cover or a vibration where the chain would be hitting. So I pinpointed the sound to the exhaust manifold.

Today I took the heatsheild off and looked around the manifold for any cracks or anything out of the ordinary. Everything looked fine so far then I decided to check the bolts to see if any were loose. I began carefully checking each one with a socket and to make sure I didnt do it too hard to tighten them more than they should be. So I was making my way from the back to the front and all seemed well except for the very first bolt. It was extremely loose when I began to check it and with very little force applied the stud snapped off! As soon as that happened my stomach sank and I preceded to mutter expletives under my breath.:bash:

Am I fucked? The part of the stud that broke off seems to be very long and it seems long enough for the rest of it to be inside the head. Will I have to take it to the shop then? If so around how much am I looking to spend?

Sorry for the long post im just really worried right now that I might have fucked my self over :(

[Jeff240sx]

Happens. Alot.
Don't worry about it imo. You can go to a junkyard and double-nut a stud, or go to nissan and see if you can buy a new one. Then take the snapped one, and the new one to a mechanic.
Most people just cruise around stud-less, though.
-Jeff

[mikeroy420]

You could take your head apart and have a perma-coil installed. That is just a suggestion.

[skatanic28]

drill a small hole in the stud and use an easy-out. then go buy a new stud.
pretty easy fix, just take your time and drill straight in.

[kandyflip445]

:werd: I have a bolt out set from Sears. Works great. I used it on the bleeder bolt that broke off.

[Bradman123]

lol i know this feeling, spent a day running back and forth into town to get stuff and fixing it. i borrowed tools from a machine shop in town that i know pretty well. mine was an sr though so of course the studs arent readily available plus mine actually stripped out of the head with little to no force. if you can get in there take the old stud out by either drilling it out or if you can get vice grips on it try and back it out by turning it. if you had to drill it out i spose ur gonna have to go to nissan and see if they can get you a replacement. if you cant get a replacement you could always re tap the hole and put a stud of similar type metric or standard. its not an exact science just get in there and do it, u'll figure it out. and no ur not by any means fucked. i had to put a hellicoil in my head and use a standard stud instead of metric since no body had metric around here. good luck...by the way you can get drill out bits but they arent cheap..this is what you would have to do if you are going to use another stud exactly the same as the rest of them otherwise youd have to retap and us a helicoil or a bigger stud. later

-Brad

[Drift Style S14]

I had the same thing happen to my 95. the first stud on the exaust side of the head snapped. Drilling that thing out owned me. I should have take pictures. The best advice i can give you is make some room by removing as much as you can, cause fitting a drill in there to tap it strait is a bitch. I am suprised that i didn't hit anything vital when i drilled out the stud cause i was a messy ass job and looked like crap when i got done. good luck!


Oh the reason it probably snapped was cause you might have hit something with your exaust. thats what happend to me. I accidently took my 240 off one of the cliffs in the berkeley hills by the science labs up there. Good times.

[skatanic28]

why bother drilling the stud out and retapping the head when you can just use a small bit and an easy out. theyre only like 4 or 5 bucks and a hell of a lot easier than drilling thru the entire stud. imo tapping would be the hard way out.
drilling will be a ton easier if you get on of those 90 degree drill adapters (dont know what they are called) so you can fit in there nicely

nissan has some of the most pussy exhuast studs ive ever seen. we took one in to autozone to try to find a replacement, and the closest thing was a water pump stud :(

[SR240DET]

here is what i did.... get some wd-40.. (i used PB blaster) and the bolt extractor from auto zone or whatever.... drill the center of the stud... useing a fairly good size.. i used the #3 drill bit and extractor... carefully.. check to see if the drill bit walks... if it does.. then get the sommina bitch in the center..after you get it started.. drill and spray wd40 or pb blaster or whatever on the hole your drilling... while your drilling... then get the extractor from #3 and hammer it in the hole you drilled pretty good.. take some vise grips.. and turn.. Good Luck!

[asbestos]

Thanks for the helpful posts. Sorry for not replying earlier due to the fact I live in Florida and have been without power due to hurricane charlie. Everything is alright though nothing was damaged and my 240 is in one peice :). Looks like ill be picking up a bolt extractor set. I think it may also be wise for me to replace the gasket and all of the studs so nothing like this happens again. Thanks again guys.

[Red]

LMAO now this is a fuked up problem...

My 1st stud broke while I was installing my turbo kit... (Also a 95) I was like WTF? I got to 5lbs and snap!

Its a super easy fix... Just drill a small hole in the middle of the broke stud and easy out it... Take ya like 10mins once you get the tools.

As for studs... I'd go get all new ones... (Thats what I should have done)