i went to auto zone and got "class 8.8 and 10 something" kinda bolts... then used grade 8 washers...

not any clearance issues or anything... keep forgeting to retorq everything but it seems everythings good so far...

 

yea you definitely have a bolt busted off in that head. That sucks. I know that I would seriously doubt my own ability to drill it with any degree of accuracy with the head still installed. IMO i'd pull the head and do it on the bench where you'd at least have some elbow room. With my experience using extractors, using the biggest you possibly can right off the bat is always best, cuz if you start off smaller and end up busting the extractor off, you're gonna end up having to go up another size, but in order to do so, you'll have to drill out the pieces of the extractor you just busted off inside the bolt, which is a royal bastard because they make those extractors out of some super tough steel that will destroy any drill bit you can throw at it. Just make sure when you drill, its perfectly centered, because you can drill more of the bolt out and use a bigger extractor that is less likely to break on you.

As long as you don't develop an annoying exhaust leak, you might consider just ignoring the busted bolt. .....unless of course your looking for the perfect excuse to rip it all apart and add some more cool ****

 

definitely pull the head for any stud removal. Theres no way around it if you want to avoid any stupid accidents. good luck, thats some sexy *** piping.. I want those clamps

hmm... maybe I just had an idea, now I dont have to have some yahoo's weld on flanges or weld pipes together...

 

I highly recomend them, a little close to the pass frame rail and the tranny crossmember, but no contact at all. Slid right in from the bottom. I used Stage 8 Bolts, I like ARP studs also, I had them on my last truck and intended to use them this time as well, but thunder racing had none in stock... it did save me 60 bucks and still got a high quality, 12pt head, stainless steel header bolt, with locks... I'm happy with them

 

yep, definitely a bolt. good luck getting it out, those factory bolts are hard as hell....chewed up several drill bits. That will leak for sure, even if you don't notice it, your o2 sensor will

 

It all depends on how corroded the threads are on that bolt, you might get lucky. When my buddie's rearmost bolt broke off on his 03 2500, there was still some bolt sticking out after he removed the exhaust manifold. He was able to grab it with a pair of vise grips and just thread it out by hand. If you can drill directly through the center of the bolt (will need an angle drill for the rear bolt possibly, if you can get to it at all), you might be able to get an easy out in there and get the bolts out. If not, unfortunately the head will have to come off.

 

If you can get at it with a drill use a left handed bit. It may catch and come right out.

Another option is if the broken off bolt is at the surface of the head, place a nut (with the inside diameter a little smaller than the bolt) over the bolt and weld the nut to it. You then can put a wrench or socket on the nut and unscrew the bolt with ease
Note: after you weld the nut on the bolt, take lunch and let the bolt cool back down before you try and remove it. That's a good time to spray it down with some penatrating oil

 

i just put another band clamp directly in teh center instead of those ubolt clamps... i was able to retorq them while a lil warm and they arent leaking...

im not worried about this motor any more really cause the next thing is to build up a 6.0 and ya...

 

if you do decide to drill those bolts out use a left handed carbide tipped drill....it will drill into it and hopefully back it right out.

 

Man those headers look good that flnge is thick *** shitz, by the way time to dump the oil in catch can.