Bugger it

If there's plenty of access, one of those stud extracting jobbies that grips on the stub and cuts into it. Have you tried to tighten it in a bit more with the molegrips to try and break the corrosion holding it in?

I feel your pain - it's a common issue on the Capri 2.8i and all three I've had have done the same.

you got access to heat/welder? Heat the stud up cherry red, then build up a huge blob of mig wire on the end to get a decent grip with. Moles should work then. Heat on it's own might work if you have a decent blowtorch and can hold it steady.

Or if there is room, a set of reverse drill bits? Punch the centre of the sheared stud and starting small start drilling, eventually the vibration and space in the centre of the stud will shake the remains free before the threads get trashed.

MIG a nut on, use plenty of power. The heat will do the hard work.

There is plenty of access compared to where it is on a 2.8i that's for sure :-)

Oddly enough, I changed a rad and thermostat on my first 2.8 in about 1/2 hour, it was a piece of piss. I expected it to be a vile job

Unfortunatley all my welding gear is up North now :-( I'm not sure I could mig anything onto the studs, they appear to be made of some sort of alloy cheese..

A drill and a set of reverse bits might well be purchased tomorrow morning. It's going dark and it's pretty cold now outside..

Not an uncommon problem.

Weld a nut or two to it?

The studs'll still be steel, heat's always your friend.

========================================= Wrap the stubs with a bit of cloth (several times round) and soak the cloth with penetrating oil. Leave over night. Since you've got 15mm left you might be able to get two thin nuts (tightened against each other) on each stub to help remove.

Cic.

Go to my website

Thanks for that Dave, what an excellent page, I've learnt loads.

...Nick.

In article , Mike P writes

At least you can get to the underside of the manifold, so you could drill out the remnants of the bolts, and don't worry about the thread, use bolt/nuts (use brass to prevent corrosion?) to re-fit the thermostat head.