Have never had an issue the past 100x times I've done this. I am double nutting them and have already broken one. What is most frustrating is the fact that I installed these studs a year or 2 ago.

Anyone have any tips or advice?

 

sell it and buy a tu..


oh.

 

INOX spray or some other good PFM penetrating spray and hit them on the end with a hammer.have the nuts on so you don't trash the thread
spray knock knock knock come back tomorrow ..
then perhaps try hitting them with some torque applied .. and some times chill the stud with propane or Co2 then apply the spray

 

BP Blaster is my favorite...and givign them a good whack with a hammer helps (hit them like you are trying to pound them into the head!)

Is the head stil on the car? becasue if it is and you have already broken off a stud then you might as well accept the fact that you are going to have to pull the head....

 

The head is still on the car but I was planning on taking the head off anyway, I just wanted to get all done in a day but I was planning on pulling the studs to make it easier when removing the exhaust manifold.

Why am I taking the head off?

Well...over the past few weeks my car began starting/running on 3 cylinders occasionally. At first it was far and few between and only for a second or 2. Now its ~5 seconds, I have noticed water/gray spooge on the oil fil cap (I know what the normal condensation looks like on a cap) and a very slight loss of coolant. I checked the compression and all are ~135-140 warm)

The car has never overheated (or even gotten remotely hot) and still runs like a champ besides the slight coolant loss and oil cap residue. I can sit in traffic for 35 minutes on a 90* day and it never goes above 1/2 till the fans kick on quick... but I feel like I'm seeing the beginning of an issue and would rather take care of it while I still have time and can go without the car for a day or 2.

Now, I highly doubt the Vitesse MAF/chips caused ANY sort of condition to blow my headgasket (even at 17-18 psi - for stupid short burts, like I've never gone abve 4.5K in 4th gear in boost etc) BUT when I had my previous setup (dead maxtronic, ARC2, Huntley MAF, bad wiring harnesses AKA the car ran like ****) about 13K miles ago back when I was having all my problems I overboosted it bad - I think I heard the needle ping against its stop on my 20psi boost gauge! - when I reversed the lines on the MBC.

I'm thinking that maybe that overboost with the TERRIBLE (can't emphasis enough) "tune" I had possibly weakend/partially blew out my headgasket (o-ringed head) and it just took ~13K miles (driving it every day since late February) to finally come to the point where I noticed it... Thoughts?

 

Its easier to pull the head with the exhaust manifold on....take it from somebody that has done a few!

The only way you are going to fix the broken stud is with the head off anyway.

 

Yes, save yourself four hours and pull / install the head with the header on. Life is much easier.

 

If the headers are still attached, they may be putting pressure on the studs and pushing them to one side -- which will make them much harder to remove. With the nuts removed, do the headers move easily on the studs? In any event, I agree with the others. Have done it both ways many times -- easier to leave the headers on when you pull up the head, assuming your back can take the extra weight.

 

Heat always seem to free up the most stubborn of things....