Yank That Stud: A Titan Tools Love Story

Bull · Mar 18, 2013

The few tools by Titan that I have purchased have all been of excellent quality.

Recently, I found myself needing to remove two broken studs from a pair of exhaust manifolds for my '95 Roadmaster wagon. I had used one of those old skool concentric stud pullers to remove four out of six successfully, but two snapped and made me grimace. BTW, those concentric pullers are bulky and awkward!

Now, I know that a real garage junkie would have a red wrench to get the job done. I do not, so I had to look for other options and was afraid I'd have to pay my mechanic to heat them out, ultimately.

I found these stud extractors sold by Titan:

There are identical looking versions out there by Mann and Mayhew. I'm not sure if any of them are rebadges.

Anyway, this thing is seriously awesome.

Here is a pic of the worst manifold. There is actually more of a stub sticking up on this one, but the corrosion around the stud is so bad, it looked like stud and manifold flange were one monolithic piece.

I started with this stud, using a 3/8 120 tooth Gearwrench ratchet and an old Blue Point impact driver to work the tool. The stud wouldn't give. So, I went to the other manifold and while it fought me, the stud did break free and come out. So, I went back to the first manifold and tried again. By this time, the stud stub was pretty chewed up and I was basically sure it was going to snap, or that the extractor wouldn't be able to get a decent grip anymore. But using the impact driver to help seat the stub inside the tool's jaws, I did get a good grip. I put the impact down after a while and went to the ratchet. I had switched to a Craftsman Premium because I realized that the handle shape is about a million times more comfortable to put big torque into than the Gearwrench. Finally, I felt something give. I was sure that the stud was snapping, but when I looked at the other side I could see it had begun to break away from its rusty tomb.

Before the stud began to move. See how it's like one solid mass of corrosion?

Success!

I should note that I had been hosing these things with Kroil for a week since snapping them off. But, the rust was so solid I don't think Kroil was actually penetrating much of anything.

This tool has earned a spot in my box forever. I'll probably pick up another one, just because it saved me from a lot of frustration and has earned my respect.

Wi Fire 10 · Mar 18, 2013

That looks a lot like a tap handle that can be attached to a ratchet. Thanks for sharing, I've never seen one before.

Bull · Mar 18, 2013

Wi Fire 10 said:
That looks a lot like a tap handle that can be attached to a ratchet. Thanks for sharing, I've never seen one before.

I had never seen one either until searching for a solution to this frustrating problem.

It's basically like a hand-held drill chuck with aggressive teeth.

Skin · Mar 18, 2013

you can use MAPP gas as a poor mans red wrench but it takes quite a bit longer and doesn't get as hot as oxy-acetylene. Something like that where you're trying to save the part its definitely beneficial to have as much going for you as possible. Cleaning as much corrosion up with your die grinder and heating it then using the tool would make it that much easier. With plain brute force theres always the chance of snapping it flush meaning you get to drill it or worse breaking the ear.

Bull · Mar 18, 2013

Skin said:
you can use MAPP gas as a poor mans red wrench but it takes quite a bit longer and doesn't get as hot as acetylene. Something like that where you're trying to save the part its definitely beneficial to have as much going for you as possible. Cleaning as much corrosion up with your die grinder and heating it then using the tool would make it that much easier. With plain brute force theres always the chance of snapping it flush meaning you get to drill it or worse breaking the ear.

I don't even own a die grinder. I used a wire brush around the rust, but it was solid.

BTW, when you are removing a bolt with heat, where do you place the heat? On the bolt itself or the area around it? On the side of the bolt you will put your tool on, or the other side where it sticks through the flange (in this example)?

Skin · Mar 18, 2013

Bull said:
I don't even own a die grinder. I used a wire brush around the rust, but it was solid.

No rust is too solid for a die grinder with roloc discs!

BTW, when you are removing a bolt with heat, where do you place the heat? On the bolt itself or the area around it? On the side of the bolt you will put your tool on, or the other side where it sticks through the flange (in this example)?

Always the area around it, as much of the area as possible. The idea is to expand the surrounding threads while keeping the stud cooler. Acetylene does a pretty thorough job heating something like that through so I just clamp it in and heat the working side and let it roast until it glows.

Also i'll grind any stud sticking out the back down flush before I do anything so that i'm fighting as little remaining stud as possible.

abvw · Mar 18, 2013

I just torch the area until it glows red (stud, nut and manifold), then cool it completely with a spray bottle and then a shot of WD40. Haven't had any problems with rusty manifolds, as long as you give it time to heat up and cool.

Bull · Mar 18, 2013

Straight acetylene works? My dad's old plumbing torch is just a tank of acetylene with a Turbo Torch, hose, and regulator. He used that setup to sweat tens of thousands of copper fittings. Would it also be a good red wrench? I always thought oxy-acetlyne mix is what people used?

Glowing read heat scares me, so I am happy to have a tool like this in my arsenal, especially if I were working in an engine bay with a snapped stud in the head, or a snapped bolt under a car that is up on stands, something near a gas line or sensitive part etc.

Skin · Mar 19, 2013

straight acetylene works about as well as MAPP. Oxy-Acetylene is much more effective. You need to embrace and love glowing red in this area if you want to take stuff apart without getting stressed out. Pretty much anything to do with the undercarriage/exhaust + a decade or more of time *****.

abvw · Mar 19, 2013

Bull said:
Straight acetylene works? My dad's old plumbing torch is just a tank of acetylene with a Turbo Torch, hose, and regulator. He used that setup to sweat tens of thousands of copper fittings. Would it also be a good red wrench? I always thought oxy-acetlyne mix is what people used?

Glowing read heat scares me, so I am happy to have a tool like this in my arsenal, especially if I were working in an engine bay with a snapped stud in the head, or a snapped bolt under a car that is up on stands, something near a gas line or sensitive part etc.

Keep a spray bottle on you, at work we use propane torches and they work great. Spray down the surrounding area with water and keep the area damp while the torch is running. Takes a bit of practice.

I have yet to work on a car with the fuel delivery system close to the exhaust system.

Skin · Mar 19, 2013

abvw said:
I have yet to work on a car with the fuel delivery system close to the exhaust system.

to add to this most of the time the actual manifold studs going into the block tend to come out with the fastener as opposed to breaking. My experience anyway. Its the actual pipe connections that become problematic.

ephotrod · Mar 19, 2013

A four inch pipe wrench works.
Josh

SMKS · Mar 19, 2013

Very interesting. I've never seen or heard of this tool before.

What's the COO of this tool? I think the few Titan tools I've seen were made in Taiwan.

Did you buy it locally or order it online? I just googled the part number and found it's available from several places for around $20 - $25.

Bull said:
But using the impact driver to help seat the stub inside the tool's jaws, I did get a good grip.

I'm not 100% sure I understand this. If I'm understanding, you used a hand impact driver (the type you hit with a hammer) to help tighten the jaws especially tight. Then, you used a normal rather to turn the tool and remove the stud?

Is there a chance the impact driver would exert too much force on the tool, or exert force in a way that the tool wasn't mean to absorb, and break the tool?

Hiball · Mar 19, 2013

I wanna see the 100 tooth Gearwrench ratchet, did you break 20 off there new 120xp?

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

Hi Stephen,

Yes indeedy, it is from Taiwan, as are the other Titan tools I have picked up. Feels very well-made and nicely finished.

What you describe does accurately capture what i did, yes. The tool is actually meant to be used with a ratchet, wrench, or impact driver. I don't own an impact gun, so I went with the hand-held version. Whether that is inappropriate, I don't know.

When I first tightened the jaws onto the mangled stud, the action of the jaws beginning to grip it sort of pulled the tool up an away from the surface of the flange. Whacking it with the impact driver seated the nose of the jaws flush against the flange, making sure as much of the stub as possible was inside.

stephen9666 said:
Very interesting. I've never seen or heard of this tool before.

What's the COO of this tool? I think the few Titan tools I've seen were made in Taiwan.

I'm not 100% sure I understand this. If I'm understanding, you used a hand impact driver (the type you hit with a hammer) to help tighten the jaws especially tight. Then, you used a normal rather to turn the tool and remove the stud?

Is there a chance the impact driver would exert too much force on the tool, or exert force in a way that the tool wasn't mean to absorb, and break the tool?

Skin · Mar 19, 2013

stephen9666 said:
Is there a chance the impact driver would exert too much force on the tool, or exert force in a way that the tool wasn't mean to absorb, and break the tool?

Packaging says you can use an impact wrench on it so that's pretty much means its suppose to take anything. :evil:

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

Hiball said:
I wanna see the 100 tooth Gearwrench ratchet, did you break 20 off there new 120xp?

Doh! My bad. I'll go back and correct that! :lol_hitti

TimDaToolMan · Mar 19, 2013

Wouldn't a vise grip do the same thing?

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

TimDaToolMan said:
Wouldn't a vise grip do the same thing?

This tool seems to exert a level of force that is much, much greater than what a Vise Grip could do (and which I tried). These studs were not just a little stuck, they were effing STUCK.

I have successfully used Vise Grips to pull broken studs before, on my '69 GTO. But they aren't going to work on nasty **** like this.

The reviews for this tool are universally positive, and consist of people talking about all the stuff they tried (like i did) before finding this wonderful little gem.

srmofo · Mar 19, 2013

I have a set of the cam style stud extractors and they work great when there is enough meat to grab onto. I might have to find one of these for when they are broken off

like these
http://www.ultimategarage.com/shop/part.php?products_id=934

Hiball · Mar 19, 2013

srmofo said:
I have a set of the cam style stud extractors and they work great when there is enough meat to grab onto. I might have to find one of these for when they are broken off

+1, I just have the old school type with the rotating center piece that grips the stud on 1 side. They work good on long studs, but I can see them being a issue on short/broken studs.

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

srmofo said:
I have a set of the cam style stud extractors and they work great when there is enough meat to grab onto. I might have to find one of these for when they are broken off

like these
http://www.ultimategarage.com/shop/part.php?products_id=934

I see those can also be used to install studs. Does that mean they don't damage threads?

Because this thing here is for extracting only.

SKAutomotive · Mar 19, 2013

Excellent tool, if you get lucky enough to not break it flush. I also am pretty sure the Kroil was penetrating, because those threads look pretty clean.

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

Hiball said:
+1, I just have the old school type with the rotating center piece that grips the stud on 1 side. They work good on long studs, but I can see them being a issue on short/broken studs.

That sounds like the style I used with success on four out of six of the original studs. I think that the kind of twisting it did is more likely to snap studs off than this Titan piece and as you say, once it's snapped that other style can't get a grip.

SKAutomotive said:
Excellent tool, if you get lucky enough to not break it flush. I also am pretty sure the Kroil was penetrating, because those threads look pretty clean.

If the Kroil was getting in there, then it was getting into some microscopic holes. But they do say it creeps into a millionth of an inch spot, right?

I did spray some Kroil once the stud began to move and the seemingly solid rust around the stud had been broken.

TimDaToolMan · Mar 19, 2013

I will give a hint, a 50/50 of ATF and Acetone works better than anything. Just gotta shake it before use, as it separates.

Costs about $15 for a quart of ATF, and a quart of acetone. Makes a half a gallon and a lot cheaper than spending $70 for a gallon of Kroil.

Machinists Workshop magazine actually tested penetrates for break out torque on rusted nuts. They arranged a subjective test of all popular penetrates with control being the torque required to remove a nut from a "scientifically rusted" environment.

WD40...................238 LBS
PB Blaster ............214 LBS
Liquid Wrench.......127 LBS
Kano Kroil.............106 LBS
ATF -Acetone 50/50 mix ...53 lbs (Home brew)

srmofo · Mar 19, 2013

Bull said:
I see those can also be used to install studs. Does that mean they don't damage threads?

Because this thing here is for extracting only.

If you have to crank on them removing they will leave 3 large flat spots, but if you are installing new studs the damage is very minimal and cleans up easily with a quick thread chaser.

The rollers are like cams and as you twist them, they bite down

SKAutomotive · Mar 19, 2013

TimDaToolMan said:
I will give a hint, a 50/50 of ATF and Acetone works better than anything. Just gotta shake it before use, as it separates.

I read that article, too bad it's not real world scenario. When a bolt rusts to the the point that heat won't budge it, then penetration fluids aren't going to get through to where they need to be.

TimDaToolMan · Mar 19, 2013

True. It can be hard to use a torch on a car, too much wiring and fluid lines to risk melting.

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

Perhaps Kroil creeps into spaces that 50/50 and other brews can't get into. I don't know.

BK13 · Mar 19, 2013

Completely random thought: guys must have gotten things done a lot quicker in the past, without stopping to take pictures at every step...

:eyecrazy:

TimDaToolMan · Mar 19, 2013

It has to do with the viscosity of the fluid. Steel is not porous. Steel does not adsorb anything. People get the misconception that the penetrant "soaks in".

The thinner the fluid, the easier it can travel into the microscopic gaps between the nut and the bolt. As said, it don't soak, but rather "creeps".

Acetone:0.3311 mPa·s at 20°C (68°F)

Now compare that to water: 1.002 at 20C.

Look here:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/absolute-viscosity-liquids-d_1259.html

As you can see, acetone has the lowest viscosity.

Acetone alone *****, it evaporates quickly. Not so much when used with ATF. Why ATF? it's a lower viscosity than motor oil.

So the acetone is the penetrant, and the ATF is the oil. Together they make a hell of a fluid.

TheGrooveking · Mar 19, 2013

Great thread! I for one was unaware of these stud pullers and will getting some for my toolbox.

TheGrooveking

greasemonkey44 · Mar 19, 2013

yeah i bought on for doing broken bolts on an ls engine; i was sold after that
pliers didnt work, pwz or knipex, or vice grips

ex-x-fire · Mar 19, 2013

That tool is a knock off of one made by Klann of Germany, I've had one about 15yrs now, I replaced the jaws once. They get worn if you use them alot.

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

ex-x-fire said:
That tool is a knock off of one made by Klann of Germany, I've had one about 15yrs now, I replaced the jaws once. They get worn if you use them alot.

I wonder if the Mayhew is made by the same company in Taiwan, or if it is USA made?

cburnscrx · Mar 19, 2013

Nothing to say about this particular tool, but I have to admit I am very impressed with the Titan brand in general. I have three ratchets, and couldn't be more pleased! I'll be buying more of their products in the future.

MAD · Mar 19, 2013

Bull said:
I wonder if the Mayhew is made by the same company in Taiwan, or if it is USA made?

The Mayhew branded one is also made in Taiwan- probably the same tool.

Bull · Mar 19, 2013

MAD said:
The Mayhew branded one is also made in Taiwan- probably the same tool.

In that case, I don't feel guilty with picking the Titan. I'm all about USA support, but not when it comes to foreign-made relabels.

Conductor562 · Mar 19, 2013

I've got a few Titan tools and they've all been good tools for the price. I can't speak to all their tools, but their ratchets and sockets appear to be made by Rotar who also makes Toptul as well as the new Kobalt rats as seen in this pic of a Kobalt rat next to a Titan. After checking out their site I was surprised at just how many tools they carried.

MechanicNamedJohn · Mar 19, 2013

Mines a Mayhew... Love it... Makes removing Ford modular exhaust studs a lot easier.

Yank That Stud: A Titan Tools Love Story

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