Villiers Mk15 exhaust and studs

[vhgmcbuddy]

The pepper pot exhaust on my Monro Tiller series3 has fallen apart. The nuts on the studs are never going to come off. Any one any advice on how likely it is I’ll be able to split the nuts, remove the exhaust, penetrate and heat the studs, wind the studs out, snap the studs off, drill them out, retap the holes, fit new studs, add a new exhaust.
Or do I just saw off the pepper pot somewhere down the exhaust pipe and get someone to braze a new pot onto the existing stub?
Any experience gladly received.
Thanks
James

[charlie]

The secret is going to be patience. I would start by carefully filing/grinding away part of the nut down to but not into the stud threads. With a bit of care it should come off, may require heat plus penetrating fluid. Depending on condition of thread on stud it may be necessary to run a die down the thread. If thread on stud is beyond recovery one way of removing them would be to weld a nut on. The heat from welding will help loosen them. If they do break off all is not lost. It is possible to weld a nut to the remains of the broken stud by placing a nut over the stud (even if it is flush with head) and welding them through the hole in the nut. I had a stud break in a cylinder head and although it took about 10 attempts, the welded on nut sheared off repeatedly, the stud did come out.
Last resort is to drill out the broken stud and tap the hole. Good luck.

[wristpin]

Welding down through a nut down into a stud that has sheared nearly flush with the block is fine but tricky. I’ve found it easier and more effective to weld a washer to the stud and then a nut to the washer . If the washer is slightly larger in diameter than the nut there is plenty of “flange” to weld to.
A further refinement if the situation allows is to lay two small diameter nails or even bits of mig wire under the washer so that it is not pulled tight to the block causing unwanted resistance to turning.
It may seem obvious but the “art” of recovering from such mini disasters is to spend a bit of time thinking about it and formulating a plan of attack that will make the best of the situation rather than just grabbing the vice grips and making things worse.

[vhgmcbuddy]

Have found a head and exhaust on youknowwherebay, eagerly awaiting delivery. I’ll then have 2 sets to ruin, so can make a proper go of it!

[Author]

Posts