Please Help

[SlimJim]

I broke one of the allen bolts on the exhaust. I had soaked these things for a week in penetrating oil and on my first attempt it broke. What do i do now? This is my first set back and i'm freaking out. I've never done this kind of stuff so I'm learning as I'm going along. Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Slimjim

[dbeardslee]

Are you saying you broke one of the studs that holds the headers pipes to the head? A lot of times you can get them to break loose by applying heat around the bolt. If there's enough sticking out you might then be able to grab it with vice grips and turn it out. If it's broken too close to the motor you'll probably need to use a drill and an EZ out to extract it (after applying heat). Worst comes to worst you can completely drill it out and replace the threads with a heli coil kit.

[FANNING507]

Couple of things to try. Remove the other allen bolt and put vice-grips on the bolt stub to break it loose. You might tap on the broken end a little bit first, or put a little pressure on the vice-grip and tap. If it broke off flush or inside the threads, you can try the easy-outs.

[SlimJim]

Thanks guys for the quik response's. I'll try your suggestion. Thanks again.

[fredintoon]

I broke one of the allen bolts on the exhaust. I had soaked these things for a week in penetrating oil and on my first attempt it broke. What do i do now? This is my first set back and i'm freaking out. I've never done this kind of stuff so I'm learning as I'm going along. Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Slimjim

Hi Jim,
first thing is, unless some PO has messed with it, those fasteners ain't Allen screws.
They are deep nuts with hexagonal sockets in them to fit an Allen wrench.
If they are already soaked in penetrating oil (Not WD40, which is NOT a penetrating oil) try heating the area real good with a hot air paint stripper then first tightening them a little then loosening a 1/4-turn, tighty-loosy a bit at a time.
They'll either come undone or bust off but either way they gotta go, eh?
My own experience the one time I did this:- 5 nuts came off OK and 3 threaded out stud and all. Of those 3, 2 nuts came off with the stud gripped in a bench vise and one stud snapped in half. That nut was salvaged and I had to buy a new stud.
So yeah, it can be a battle.
Once all the nuts are off and the exhausts are out of the way there should be enough of the stud left sticking out to grab it with a visegrip or a stud removal tool and thread it all the way out.
You can still buy the studs, the special nuts and the new exhaust gaskets from the Yamastore.

[SlimJim]

thanks fredintoon. I 'm very greatful for the info. You say I can still get the studs and gaskets. Is that any yamaha store? or someting that deals in vintage bike stuff.

[tarzan]

If the stud is seized and you have to drill it out, then it would be wise to grind a flat on the end of it then use a center punch to put a dimple as close to the center of the bolt as possible.Then drill through the stud with a small drill bit.
Then use a little bigger bit and step up till you see rings in the hole.That would indicate you are at the threads.If you drill bigger than that you will ruin the threads, which as has been pointed out could be repaired with a heli coil if you have to.
I personally would not try an easy out if the stud is seized.More times than not,you will end up breaking the easy out off in the bolt.And believe me, the easy out is way harder to remove than the bolt if it gets broken.
Easy outs are more useful when you have a bolt that just stripped the head or the head broke off but the threads are not seized.

[SFerinTEXAS]

Do you actually have bolts or the OE allen holed nuts? If there is enough thread on the stud or bolts after the exhaust is removed you can try double nutting , put 2 nuts on the stud and tighten them against each other then use a wrench on the inside nut.

[fredintoon]

thanks fredintoon. I 'm very greatful for the info. You say I can still get the studs and gaskets. Is that any yamaha store? or someting that deals in vintage bike stuff.

Hi Jim,
any decent Yamaha store. They are the same studs and nuts that are on several different years and models. You may have to bypass the spotty teenage counterhand, talk to the boss and have the parts ordered in but they are still available.

[DGXSER]

If your not to worried about looks or are in a pinch, you can buy a normal metric bolt and use it instead.

[bikerphil]

Ace hardware has those metric exhaust studs too.

[fredintoon]

If your not to worried about looks or are in a pinch, you can buy a normal metric bolt and use it instead.

Hi DGXSER,
not a hex head bolt you can't, there's no way to get a wrench on it.
An Allen head capscrew will work in place of the stud and special "inside out" nut and will look no different but it will be working in the thread in the aluminum head every time it's turned in or out and that's not good in the long term.

[DGXSER]

Hi DGXSER,
not a hex head bolt you can't, there's no way to get a wrench on it.
An Allen head capscrew will work in place of the stud and special "inside out" nut and will look no different but it will be working in the thread in the aluminum head every time it's turned in or out and that's not good in the long term.

Hey Fred,

Well, there are a couple it is about impossible to reach to, but I know from experience you can get a wrench or rather a socket on it on at least one. But I do agree, it is best to use the stud as you suggested. Although, hopefully, you do not need to pull the exhaust off and on very often, like once every ten years or so. Yet, I acknowledge some aftermarket ones require you to lose the exhaust to change the oil filter.

[fredintoon]

Hey Fred,
Well, there are a couple it is about impossible to reach to, but I know from experience you can get a wrench or rather a socket on it on at least one. - - -

Hi DGXSER,
my Special's exhaust flanges sit the nuts down into pockets so the only way a hex. headed bolt would work is if you used a longer one with a spacer tube on it.
Or there's these things:-
http://www.bestnutsbolts.com/ferry.html

[dbeardslee]

Mine doesn't have any studs - allen head bolts on all of them. Here's the problem - it's also got an aftermarket 4/1 with relatively flimsy header flanges. It takes more torque to get them sealed than the factory ring nuts do. If you take them on and off frequently, the aluminum in the head isn't going to like the steel in the bolts. I've got seven heli coils on mine to prove it . My advise is to replace the stud with another stud - it'll hold up better long term.