[200q20v] Re: Tech report: Broken Stud removal

[Jeffrey Goggin]

>Kudos Jeff, I'm a believer, the "knife" is yours sir.  I tried calling Jeff 
>yesterday, but didn't get him, so I called Lawson and shared the awesome
nerd 
>btdt.  This procedure beggers belief until you give it a try....  From a 
>customer perspective, I doubt this procedure is any *cheaper* in terms of 
>actual time/cost, but it certainly is the right and better way to fix this 
>common audi malady.

I have used this technique successfully many times over the years to
extract bolts and studs from far more than just cylinder heads.  Given the
major grief these jobs usually are, it's hard not to laugh the first time
you try it. 

However, I can't claim credit for the discovery.  That belongs to Chris
Harrison, machinist/fabricator extraordinair and proprietor of Harrison
Autodynamics, a racecar shop in Phoenix, Arizona.  He demonstrated it to me
by removing a broken bolt in an alternator case while simultaneously eating
the lunch I'd brought him as a bribe to fix it for me.  The key to its
success, in my opinion, isn't electrolysis but the concentrated application
of heat, which breaks the corrosion and/or galvanic bonds between the steel
stud/bolt and the aluminum casting.

Anyway, it really does work a treat and if you've got a welder handy, it's
definitely worth a try the next time fate deals you a bum hand.  Like
Scott, my track record with it to date is 100%.

Jeff Goggin
Scottsdale, AZ