I noticed a small amount of black soot on the head right around the broken header stud, which has been broken for at least a year now (last stud towards the distributor). Is this bad? I know I need to replace the stud but I will have to find the time to drain and remove the radiator and all that stuff so I can get room to drill it out.

 

Worst case scenario I've heard you can burn valves, but I seriously doubt you will since it's not leaking that bad. You can however get carbon monoxide poisoning if you turn off recirculate on the a/c and the exhaust fumes get inside... but again, a fairly low risk.

Ive been running with a broken stud (left bottom as well) for a few months now and havent noticed any leaking as far as I can tell. I will replace it eventually though.

 

WTF

Must be the OBD1 GSR motors or something. My friend has the same problem. Same area. He rode around with that thing for a while. He just drilled it out and it took him forever. He tried about every bolt extractor on the market. LOL

 

weld weld weld, build the stud out of the head by stacking tacks then tack a nut and twist it out, works great. gotta take off manifold or you'll make a mess.

 

this seems like a common problem in gsr i had it happend to me when i was changing my headers i took it to a shop and had them re-thead the hole