The saga of the stuck exhaust stud.
Part of Lemon Bomber
One of the exhaust studs snapped off during disassembly. After soaking it in PB Blaster and applying heat, I tried again—but it snapped, leaving very little sticking out to work with. At that point, extraction wasn’t going to be straightforward. I sanded the surface flat to give myself the best chance at getting a centered pilot hole, then carefully started drilling. I worked my way up one drill bit size at a time, keeping things as aligned as I could. I did try an easy-out along with more heat and penetrating oil, but it wouldn’t budge. In the end, I drilled it out as much as I safely could and re-tapped the threads. It’s not the cleanest repair visually, but for a first attempt at this kind of job, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out—and it should work just fine. New studs are on the way, and once they’re in, the cylinder can go back together.
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