| Author | Message | ||
     Joele |
For no apparent reason, my front exhaust header has a broken stud - the bike is an '05 with only 4600 miles - that should be covered under warranty, right? | ||
| Slaughter |
If it was last installed by the dealer, you should have no problem. Broken studs are a BIG problem among do it yourselfers who can't believe how little torque they really need. What also happens is sometimes one side loosens, and the other side then busts. If your dealer won't honor the warranty and you're running stock pipes with the dealer doing the work, I'd bet a couple people here can send you somewhere you might get help. Broken studs CAN be fixed in the garage (trust me on that one) - but you'll need a fixture and will have to install a helicoil type insert. If you're planning on doing a lot of the work yourself in the future, you probably ought to buy a Jim's Exhaust Stud Drill Fixture. About $60 | ||
| Johnk3 |
If you do it yourself be careful. I broke the tap while threading the hole after I drilled out the broken stud and then had to drill that out and weld the head before tapping it again. I have the JIMS exhaust stud tool now if anyone ever needs it. | ||
| Voltage_vector |
JIMS stud tool? whats that? | ||
| Slaughter |
http://www.jimsusa.com (you can download their catalog) Here's a pic of how it's setup and used: http://www.zippersperformance.com/catalogue/photo.asp?ID=578&cat=589&prod=1507 | ||
| Voltage_vector |
Thanks... | ||
| Voltage_vector |
Slaughter, wow that site had tons of goodies! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Slaughter speaks words of wisdom. | ||
| Sik_s |
Do the studs break every so often from vibration, or is it the taking on and off the exhaust header? Can I buy new studs and just replace them every 5000 miles? I'm assuming the old studs just thread out if they are not broken? Obviously I am not sure how they are installed. | ||
| Buellrcr |
get the jims tool i tried to get one out on the race bike . i end up pulling the head , so time to rering the bike. it took me 2hrs to take the bike apart.down to the piston hanging their | ||
| Slaughter |
Sik_s, You are right on the thread installation. The section of stud in the head is a 5/16 coarse thread. I wouldn't replace the studs on a regular basis - BUT if re-installing the headers after putting in fresh exhaust gaskets, I'd make sure I had a good 1/4 inch drive torque wrench and ONLY tighten to the torque called out in the manual (which I'm too lazy to look up) - BUT the number is small - on the order of 12 foot pounds (less than the "standard" 15-19 ftxlb for a 5/16-24 nut on grade 5 steel). A common mistake is to tighten one side to full torque, then the other. This bends the first stud. You have to sneak up on the proper torque in a couple steps on both nuts before final tightening. Also, re-check after a few hours of operation. As the gaskets seat, sometimes the nuts loosen a little bit. One thing often overlooked is that you have to prevent the exhaust from "hanging" on the exhaust studs. You really need to have the pipes evenly supported from all the mounts - from the exaust ports all the way back to the final hanger. If you tighten up the flange nuts first and then tighten the rest of the mounts that hold the exhaust - she'll often break the studs in the first couple rides. (Message edited by slaughter on April 02, 2006) | ||
| Slaughter |
I went a looked up a good torque chart for US standard hardware. http://www.imperialinc.com/pdf/A_FastenerTorqueCharts.pdf Figure we're talking grade 5 studs and grade B nuts If you get non-standard studs and nuts, you'll have to get the particular manufacturer's recommendations. | ||
| Exupmonkey |
Joele...my header stud broke as well. I took it to my dealer and told them that there was no obvious explanation as to why it happened and that as far as I was concerned it was a warranty issue. Fortunately for me both the shop manager and head tech agreed and the warranty claim was honored. The shop's only concern before doing the job was that I had not replaced or tampered in any way with the downpipes, which I hadn't, although there was a pro-series can fitted. I ended up getting a new head cause they couldn't remove the nut that secures a cable guide that runs down the front of the engine! I suppose a lot will depend on how you approach the shop however if I were you I would give it a go...you just never know Good luck! | ||
| Ragnagwar |
Do yourself a big favor and coat the studs with anti-sieze before installing them in the heads. If you break another one it will make removal much easier! | ||
| Exupmonkey |
Joele....how did you get on, did you try the warranty route? | ||
| Joele |
Took the bike to Mancusso HD/Buell here in Houston - the Service Manager called and said that the stud had broken because I ran over something, and the force on the muffler pushed the exhaust pipe up and broke the stud. I immediately disagreed with that because of the way the muffler mounts to the bike, the force of such an impact would have bent or damaged the muffler mounts first. The Service Manager said he'd warranty the stud "out of the kindness of his heart", but I'd have to pay for an hour labor to "straiten the bent exhaust pipe" - I told him that I'd like to call Buell first to verify what he was saying was possible and he said that if I called Buell he wouldn't do the work under warranty. He and I argued about the physical possibilities of what he was telling me happened and told me to come see for myself. So I went to the dealership and checked out the pipe and no one could explain where it was bent and how things didn't line up correctly as a result. Seemed like someone was trying to get paid by both Buell and me. I didn't agree to the terms so they said they'd repair the stud but wouldn't repair it under warranty it if it broke again. The dent on the muffler wasn't really that big, it was about 3" by 1" with a depression of 1/4 inch. I bet others have similar dents without broken exhaust header studs and so on.  | ||
| Gearheart |
Joele, I had a problem with repeated broken studs which turned out to be that one of the screws that held on the muffler had gone missing and the muffler was then free to vibrate the studs off of the exhaust ports having the whole of the header to use as a lever. Currently I have not heard of this having happened to anyone else but I would have them take a look and make sure. | ||
| Sakuc |
Unless you bend the whole friggin muffler upwards i cant see it being reason to break up studs... heh look at craig jone's exhaust: http://www.craigjones.com/press-pack/images/photo5B-m.JPG I mean.. its supported right from the front to the back so you cant really put any extra force upwards from there, imo. I could be wrong of course  | ||
| Midmofirebolt |
I've gone through 4 sheared studs (3 sets) now. First time the nuts backed off and when I tightened them, I over-torqued them, second time, they guy who fixed it over-torqued them, so the torque is very important and it doesn't take much. I've fixed it myself the last two times, just so I can make sure not to get them too tight. Also watch the straps on your muffler. The last one I sheared was because the strap had broke and the front of the muffler was dangling. So I always check the nuts on the studs and the bolt on the muffler(switched back to D&D-no front strap) anymore. It's too much of a hassle to re-drill the studs and after helicoiling both studs, I think the next time I'll have a pretty big problem. | ||
| Jens |
http://www.stage8.com We use on the streetbikes. Broken studs you remove easy with weldering a conical milled out nut on the stud with a TIG welder. Works up to 5mm deep in the head broken studs. Technic was developed (not from me) to get out the studpieces on the old tubeframers frontmotormount. Jens | ||
| Jackbequick |
If I were doing the work myself, when I got the new stud in I'd put antiseize (graphite based, in grease) on the stud, put a standard nut on it and torque that to specs, then put a more antiseize and a second nut (maybe a thinner jamb nut) on and lock that to the bottom nut. The grease will burn off but the graphite should keep the nuts from rusting on. But I'd still give it a good soak with PB Blaster before I tried to remove the nuts. Jack |
