Stomski racing manifold jig

Hi all I'd like to replace the exhaust manifold studs as they really are nasty. I doubt any will come out in one piece. Does anyone know if there is a Stomski jig available for hire within this forum? Many thanks - Andy

Hi Andy I will have one for sale next month as I've just bought it to do mine.. The car is being done on the 19/20th of November.. so I'll be selling it on after that..I will be looking to get £250 for it.. I believe they retail for £380.. PM me if you're interested Thanks Johnny

Andy - If you go for buying Johnny's rather than hiring one I'd buy it from you when you're done with it.

Wow, they're not cheap. I was kind of hoping I could carefully tease my one snapped one out (so far, the others can stay for now), with a few reverse thread Cobalt drill bits, starting from a centrally punched hole. I was thinking the heat generated by gently drill it, combined with the anti clockwise action of the drill, might bring it out, long before I got anywhere near damaging the threads or drilling too far. The standard manifold is pretty thick and should work as a jig to some degree.

Thanks mate. PM sent Happy to sell it on afterwards gents or rent it out 🤔😁 Andy

Yeah seems sensible using a manifold but I'm keen to get this absolutely spot on, I'd happily trust myself on an old ford block but don't wanna mess up the porker. I doubt the heat from the drill would do anything, in fact I don't think introducing heat into drilling would do any good, could potentially harden the bolt I think. I watched a mate trying to drill out a caliper bolt once, he got it so hot with drills that it was eventually untouchable. Don't know if a cobalt one would have worked at that stage.

Hi all I have a Stormski jig i rent out for £50 a go plus postage, I have just dropped it off to another member today that happens to live quite close to me but I think it will be back to me within 2 weeks so if you are interested let me know via PM and I will send you my phone number as it's easier to chat that way. :thumb:

Oh btw abe996 is right the more heat you add the harder the old bolts get, I learned this the hard way trying to weld nuts on what I had left of the studs, bad move

I don't know if this applies to a oxyacetylene/heat on a bolt as this seems quite effective at removing a lot of stuff, I'm no expert though. From what I've read it can be virtually impossible to remove old Porsche head bolts even with oxy, due to the two metal types interacting over time

Fair chance of turning your engine to a liquid with an oxy torch or mig welder if you go too far. Unlikely to produce that sort of heat with a cobalt drill. I've had very limited success with drilling things out in the past. Left handed cobalt bits definitely help but getting it central and keeping it there is very difficult. Especially as bolts/studs never shear perfectly flat.

Agree with that... I don't want oxy heat near the heads. Most of the exhaust bolts are so poor that I can't get a socket on them and the ones I can aren't budging despite penetrating oil over many days. I'm thinking of cutting the bolt head off flush with the manifold using a dremel cutting disc, I'll have a flat stud to work with then and the jig should keep everything nice and central for the drilling stage. I'm aware it's a long job that requires patience and care but that's ok. 😁

Abe996 Be aware if you're unlucky to snap all 6 you will need some stubs to attach the jig. Mine sound similar to yours - I was going to use a power file to remove the remnants of the hex head. Ian

Doesn't the jig have sapcers/shims you can put over snapped off studs to centre things up even if all of your bolts snap? Obviously you've got the issue of holding the jig to the head but that shouldn't be too tricky.

They have a couple of threaded sleeves in the kit so providing you have a 3 or 4 mm of good thread protruding on a couple of bolts you should be able to get it located. Fallback idea is bottle jack and a bit of wood to jam it in place!! Ian

No not really, it does come with guides that fit over old bolt for drilling but you really need at least two of the old studs to come out so you can install the guide / screw jobbies that hold it in place using the head bolt holes. Another member on the forum that is currently renting my jig and has exactly the 6 snapped stud problem but fortunately is quite skilled + has a lathe so I think he is making up some guides that will hold the jig in place while using what's left of the old studs as locators. He is then going to sandwich the jig to the car with a jack to hold it in place so it doesn't move while drill out the first stud. I might be on soon and give you an update of how far he has got and if its worked as I didn't want to bug him too much as it sounds quite a challenge.