Cut rotten OEM manifold nuts - or a better way?

[Rory]

I?m setting about a rotten gen3 project bike and today was (going to be) exhaust removal/clean day. The OEM manifold nuts had other ideas.

Hard to tell if they?ve been rounded during previous ownership(s), but corrosion looks to have removed any chance of getting a 12-point socket to enjoy any purchase on these. Just me, or does this parts choice seem to give short shrift to maintainability?

If these nuts offered up hex faces I imagine I?d have a better shot at getting some decent rotational force applied.

Sadly I can?t get anything in the grip pliers drawer to combine grip and access to try that route - instead I?ve resorted to a mini cutter disc on a dremel to slice and then gently peel/chisel from the stud.



I?m taking care not the chew the stud thread, but who am I kidding. I?ll be looking to swap those out for new.

Would be interested in hearing others? experiences in dealing with rotten OEM nuts. Heat and WD40 had a good run out today, but feel I?m missing a trick on getting some rotation applied when a 10mm socket won?t grip (and a 9mm won?t wedge on).



Thanks - Rory

 

[bananaman]

Torx socket?

 

[stuartb]

Easiest solution is oxy/acetylene and burn them off, set of vice grips onto the remainder of stud will spin off no bother.. s'pose the hard part is getting the cutting gear.

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[muffking]

Choose the nearest socket size, add an extension bar and hammer it onto the nut.
Perhaps try to clean up the last few mm of thread on the stud 1st so the nut doesn't get stuck on the way.

 

[stuartb]

I was thinking that too, probably need to whip off the front wheel..

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[Rory]

Got them off. By the 3rd nut developed the following routine which worked faster/well for the rest.

1) Cut a square out of the nut and chisel that out, exposing thread.
2) Get some WD40 in there.
3) Use chisel against the faces of nut exposed after removing square to smack the nut left & right.
4) Keep going until there?s some free-ish movement then get vampire/grip pliers on.
5) Twist left/right repeatedly, gently unwinding the nut down the corroded stud.

Thanks for suggestions. Will try to get some more pics up, after I figure out why I can?t embed in this message.

Rory

 

[stuartb]

Did you get the studs out OK mate ?.. I'd replace all of them as a matter of course

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[Rory]

Did you get the studs out OK mate ?.. I'd replace all of them as a matter of course

Not tackled them yet - plan to refresh them all once engine is up on the bench. Current torch is simply a butane/propane blend - better with MAP to heat the block?

Rory

 

[stuartb]

Depends if you've enough purchase on them, I'd remove them cold without resorting to heat tbh..

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[Mellorp23]

You need something like this that grips the nut even if it's rounded off https://www.amazon.co.uk/rounded-bolt-remover/s?k=rounded+bolt+remover

 

[Rory]

You need something like this that grips the nut even if it's rounded off https://www.amazon.co.uk/rounded-bolt-remover/s?k=rounded+bolt+remover

Good shout - almost wish there was still a challenging nut on there to give one of these a shot - or a nut splitter. This video had some interesting head-to-head for nut extraction and then a head-to-head for stud extraction at the end. https://youtu.be/EWLxzuDMuhk

Rory