So while I was attempting to replace my leaking oil pan gasket on my 93 accord lx, I ran into a little problem while trying to remove the downpipe. One of the nuts sheared off with part of the stud from the bottom of the manifold/downpipe flange. So now I only have two studs holding together my manifold and downpipe. Is this sufficient? Or must I definitely fix it? If so, is it a stud with two nuts on both sides of the flange, or is it a bolt, with a head and a single nut? I can't tell since it seems the heat shield doesn't come off without some difficulty. Help is much appreciated.

 

It is a stud and 1 nut. The stud screws up into the exhaust manifold and the bolt is located on the down pipe side. You may find that if it isn't leaking now with just the two bolts in it. It will probably start to very shortly. Depending on what stud is broken will determine how long it lasts.

If you have the tools and the time I would suggest that you fix it. That heat shield will come off easier than you think. It just may not go back on after you snap the bolts. That does happen quite often though, not a big deal.

 

OK, so i'm looking at a diagram on hondaautomotiveparts.com of how the stud and manifold join. I see that the stud screws into the manifold from the bottom. Next, I go to another site to look at an actual picture of the stud, and I see that there's NO hex fitting on it, nor is there any other apparent way for me to latch onto it with any type of tool. How in the hell are you supposed to remove this thing????

 

If there is no part of the stud protruding out from the manifold you will have to drill it out. You could also try to use an easy-out. Easy out's still require that you drill into the center of the broken stud. If your good with an oxy-acetylene cutting torch you can heat it and blow it out.

No matter what you are going to try. The easiest thing to do first, is remove the manifold from the car. It makes it much easier to get a drill or torch directly on the broken stud.

 

The end of the sheared bolt is almost flush with the bottom of the downpipe flange. It's maybe a mm or two recessed. If i remove the downpipe, i should have a little of the stud to work with if i get a stud remover. Does the stud have to come out from the bottom? Or can I remove it from the top of the manifold flange? I can't see the top of it since i'm having difficulty figuring out how to maneuver the heat shield out of there. The power steering pump bracket and an a/c hard line get in the way.

I'm reluctant to remove the manifold because I don't want to break off any of the studs.

 

spray the heck out of the threads with PB Blaster and let it sit for a few hours, then put some more on it and try to work it out from the bottom. go back and forth with it until you get it out. if you just try to loosen it all the way out, it may bind.

 

You can get PB at Walmart. I saw it the other day. That sht works great.

 

My guess would be that in the end you'll have to remove the manifold to fix it. Been there done that!

 

Ditto on taking the manifold off. The stud has to come out from the bottom. If the stud broke instead of the nut coming off, you're not going to get it out grabbing it with a pair of pliers. If you're lucky, the easy out will do it. If not that, drill it out to just under the minor diameter of the threads, then a use a tap to try to clean the threads. The stud broke because it is seized in the manifold, it is likely that even if you get the remainder out, the threads will be damaged. Worst case is you have to put another manifold on. Don't worry too much about the manifold to head bolts, I don't recall any difficulty with those on several I've removed. Toughest part of replacing it is finding one that's not cracked (if you get one from a JY).

 

weld a 9/16 nut to it then unscrew the stud. You might need an acetylene torch to heat up the manifold glowing red so you can remove the stud. When in dought. Heat it up!