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> I was able to get at the broken studs in the back on my car with the head in
> place using a right angle drill.  The thing is ... you have to be extremely
> careful to drill the hole parallel to the axis of the stud!  In my case I
> drilled the hole at an angle ... and ended up snapping off the easy-out in
> the hole.  If you do this you will most definitely be pulling the head.

The answer is to throw the Eeze-outs over the nearest fence.

I had a long discussion about stud removal with the guys who do it for
us over here.  They charge $3 setup and $3 per stud.  They can do it
so much faster and more reliably than me that it's worth a half hour
drive.

But I was keen to put together a system that would work in the field,
when I was too far from assistance and when all the workshops are shut.

They recommended FACOM 885.   It's $$$, but it's proved utterly reliable
in operation.  Their opinion is that the screw-in type of extractor
tends to expand the stud in the hole and make it grip more easily.

According to them the techniques - in descending order of effectiveness -
are:

a) Jigging up and precision drilling to a known depth with a reverse
   spiral drill.

b) Ditto, forward spiral drill.

c) FACOM 885.

d) Easy-outs.

As I said, the FACOM system isn't cheap, but you could probably set up
for a specific stud size at a reasonable price.  It consists of a drill
bit, matching centring collars, a splined rod and a slipover nut.

You drill into the stud using one of the collars to centre and align
the hole.  Then you drive the splined rod into the stud, slide the
nut down over it, and whip the lot out with a deep socket dropped
over the nut, driven co-axially with a T-bar.

My set cost me nearly $200, but it's quite comprehensive.  Setting up
for a single stud size with a couple of collars would probably cost
$40 or so.

It's amazingly effective and very portable.  I use a Makita D3000
portable drill because it has a right-angle drive head and recharges
VERY quickly.

(I've even taken rounded-out Philips screws out of a WMB motorcycle
 fuel tank with it!)

Of course, the secret is not to snap the studs off in the first place.

I now use FACOM roller-type stud grippers - 287B.8 fits Audi manifold
studs.  The trick is to drive them with a T-bar so all forces act
straight along the stud's axis.  The offset style of stud gripper
applies a sideways force.  Once you've got some movement, go back and
forth for as long as it feels tight, applying lubrication all the
time.  I used to snap off three to four studs per head - I'm now down
to it being a relatively rare occurence, perhaps one head in three.

--
 Phil Payne
 http://www.isham-research.freeserve.co.uk/quattro
 Phone +44 7785 302803   Fax: +44 7785 309674