Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial
Bikes, Hints'n'Tips => FZ6 / Fazer => Topic started by: RedClive on 19 March 2020, 04:56:48 pm
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Two of the exhaust studs have broken on the 2004 FZ6 I recently purchased :'( . Yes I guessed they had never been undone since new and yes I should have cut, or tried to cut, the nuts before I broke the studs, but I didn't.
Today I've tried adding another nut and welding it on with my Aldi Arc welder. I got a fair weld but the stud sheared again just under where I welded it and I've now got a little less left than shown on the picture (link) below. No signs of movement (with the exception of one that came out with the nut) and I don't think I'm getting enough heat into it.
A friend is coming around on Saturday with his Mig who has successfully extracted a couple before using this technique, but I'm not too hopeful (and somewhat crapping it in case I end up having to take the head off :\ ).
I'm thinking the best thing might be to cut and weld some threaded bar onto what I've got left and grind it down with a dremel.
Anyone got any (non depressing) thoughts?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/i3HjTDmNUxJAeBBk8 (https://photos.app.goo.gl/i3HjTDmNUxJAeBBk8)
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They dont look too bad actually. Did you soak them with release agent for a week first? If not, you could still do that, then screw a nut as far as it will go on them, then weld the nut onto the stud, weld the top of the nut to the stud. Try tweaking them backwards and forwards. You have to be patient
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I soaked them every night for a few days with a penetrating oil with graphite.
Yes I see what you mean about getting the bolt nearer to the head - would give more immediate torque to the troublesome area. Only thing is, if it snaps off again its 'Goodnight Vienna'.
I'm going to pay the local Yam dealer a visit tomorrow to see what they do - they must have had a few over the years I would have thought and may either offer a service or advice.
Another possibility my Mig friend came up with is getting a threaded bar joiner and using that (grinding off the hex part on his lathe) to add some more thread. The collets on the headers are already corroded but I'm not too bothered about them. They are quite a loose fit anyway and would probably drill out a little if I need to. I'm aiming for 'tidy' but not mint - I want to ride it!
I've done the plugs, got the header pipes shining again and the aim is to next strip and re-paint the front of the block and deal with corrosion on the water pipes.
Thanks, Clive
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Try sticking the exhaust back on and running the bike. Plenty of heat in the studs that way.
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Good one. Might give that a try. Otherwise I may have someone with a big blowlamp which would be handy. At the moment I'm doing other stuff during the lockdown.
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I had the same issue couple weeks ago on my FZS600. Snapped only one though. Snapped flush with the head, I tried drilling but there is limited access and by drill bit wend a bit sideways. Luckily I've not caused too much damage
Since it was in the middle of the head I just decided to bolt everything together with new gaskets to see if it'd seal. I had to jam a nut between one bracket and the pipe so it doesn't rattle. It sealed fine.
It is a botch job but it works.
I can't see your photo but, depending where they broke, if all else fails and you don't want paying loads of money to have them drilled out maybe it's worth a try?
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Well done with the fix. I've done a similar thing for now. As the headers are sturdy I've just built everything up after spraying it and even though I'm two nuts short, the joints don't appear to leak. I did a bit of a test run yesterday (after purchasing an essential bottle of milk) and it will be fine for now until I can get it fixed after lockdown.
I think the studs on the FZ6 are a bit easier to get at than on the FZS600 from what I remember; they are on shoulders and not directly into the main block of the head.
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Nice clean bike! :thumbup
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Come across this many times Clive, if you have access to welding bottles or a good heat source and enough thread to get two nuts on and lock them together, use the first nut to undo it.
Best to get it red hot a few times then screw the nuts on and then unscrew the stud, never failed me on many years of studs shearing.
If you don't have a good heat source, do you have a local garage who will have the bottles and for a few quid would do this for you, maybe safer if using gas bottles for them to do it.
Don't force it if still tight, reheat and gentle force will move it
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Thanks for the post about heat nivek24. You are right - they respond well to that. My mechanic friend Dan managed to get one out that way, the other snapped level with the flange and I've still got to sort it out. It's not helped because we've a broken off torx stuck down it :'( . I've bought some HSS-Cobalt drills to try and drill out from here. Apparently these are very hard ... but brittle.
If things do go wrong, Dan's got a helicoil kit, but I'll wait until I have plenty of time and go steady. Await further update!