Motorcycle Repair: 1973 Honda CL350- stud bolt broken off, 1973 honda cl350, stud bolt

Question
Hi Mr. Silver,I wonder if you know a way to remove whats left of the broken stud bolt out of the cylinder head. I tried a screw extractor but didn't work. Should I remove the cylinder head .How difficult is that?I hate to open up a can of worms by doing that.Can I weld a bolt to the stud? Thanks a lot Joe.

Answer
Joe, is this an exhaust stud?

Couple of ideas for you...

With small propane torch. (no carbs or gas in the vincinity!) you can heat up the end of the bolt, then put some candle wax into the threaded area. The wax will wick into the threads and often loosens them up, so you can remove with an extractor. Is it broken off flush with the surface? If so, you will have to take it to a welding shop and have them drill a hole into a flat piece of steel.. just a thin strip, then MIG or TIG the end of the bolt to the hole in the metal strap piece, then you can use the metal as a handle to unscrew it.

In the worst case scenario, you can pull the head... after you pull the motor out of the chassis and find a machine shop that has an EDM machine. They can blast the bolt out and it won't even leave a mark.

Good luck!

Bill