79gs850 siezed cylinder studs

[Guest]

Has anyone come across a good method for the removal of siezed studs.
Out of the 12 long studs and 2 screws i have managed to loosen 9.

3 of the inner most nuts on the studs will not break loose YET. I have been soaking them in penetrating fluid and working back and forth. I have heard them crack but that is as far as I have gotten.

I have also tried using an impact screw driver with a socket attachment.

My next step in a day or so of soaking will be to try putting a little heat to the nut and quickley see if I can lossen it.

What is left to try?

My last resort would be to snap the nut, and hopefully it snaps at the nut and not the crankcase end.

[Big T]

Well, I have to ask, why in the world are you removing the studs from, presumably, the top case?

The steel/aluminum interface kind of welds itself together over time. I'd double nut the jammed studs, heat the whole thing up in an oven to 200-250 degrees and see if that won't break them free.

[psyguy]

are you at a stage of just removing the nuts to take the head off?
if so, dont worry, just go for it and the studs will let go at the bottom (in the crankcases) and you can take them out and take the nut off on the bench

or

if the head is already off, jam two nuts against each other on the stud and use a long handle wrench to take the stud off

[Piston720]

Thanks.
I am just trying to remove the nuts so that I can disassemble the cylinder head.
I am hoping to check the rings and valve seals as it has been almost 30 years since the bike has been apart, and I have one broken exhaust stud to remove.
Last night 2 more nuts loosened and there is only one more stubborn one left.
I will work it tonight before extreme force will be applied.
Of all the studs, only one stuck nut,one stud came out at the base and the rest the nut came off OK.

[rudy]

Thanks.
I am just trying to remove the nuts so that I can disassemble the cylinder head.
I am hoping to check the rings and valve seals as it has been almost 30 years since the bike has been apart, and I have one broken exhaust stud to remove.
Last night 2 more nuts loosened and there is only one more stubborn one left.
I will work it tonight before extreme force will be applied.
Of all the studs, only one stuck nut,one stud came out at the base and the rest the nut came off OK.

Just give er!! Don't worry about breaking it. Those studs can take alot of torque! You'll feel like you're gonna break your hand first. You'll likely have a LOT of corrosion around the rear middle two studs. This is because they are actually open to the elements as there are two little vents/drain holes at the back, in the top case. My guess is that this lets moisture and junk in, and you get corrosion.

When I took my 1000 apart, it was the corrosion that was holding the studs, not the friction of the threads. I had to cut the studs in half to get them out, and got new studs. If you really gotta yank on them studs, pick yourself up a stud extractor tool, if you don't mind spending the coin. I used a new (teeth still nice and sharp) pipe wrench. This will eat and chew at the stud, but if you're gonna replace anyway, who cares.

I also found that giving the studs a good number of raps on the end with a decent hammer will help to loosen the corrosion. Blow the corrosion out with compressed air, and go at it again. It took me 3 days to get those two studs out, but I got them. All the other ones were easy.

[rapidray]

I have a 4 foot long Snap On breaker bar for just these kinds of jobs. NOTHING refuses to come out with this bar! Ray.

[TheCafeKid]

PB BLASTER BABY!!! Liberally! and beat on them suckers when that stuff is soaking in, makes a world of difference. And YES, like Ray and Rudy said...LEVERAGE is our FRIEND






Just dont ever use a 2ft breaker bar to tighten down acorn nuts on the top shock studs.....dont ask

[chef1366]

Four feet???

[psyguy]

4 feet bar easily takes off the wheel hub nut on my car that's tightened to like 250 ft/lb, so, yeah, i guess it would do the gs studs with not much effort

[Piston720]

Here's the update.
Last night i finally got the studs to move. The two problem ones came out with the nut still on, so I ended up cutting the nut with a saw.
That all went pretty good BUT I snapped two of the 16 camshaft bearing bolts.
Once I clean up the head and remove the valves I will take it in to have the 2 broken cam bolts redone and 1 exhaust stud.
I hope it will as much fun to put it back together.
I have a lot of cleaning to do over the next few weeks.
Thanks for the support.

[Big T]

I'd be sure to check and clean every thread on the head. Run a thread chaser in them. Your machinist should have all the necessary tools. Helicoil any sketchy holes now

[wilmas2cool]

Went through the same thing on my 850. PB Blaster is great stuff. The ordeal was so traumatic that I've considered shock therapy to remove it from my memory !