Edit: Extracting valve cover stud from engine head

[DanAvoN7]

Sooo have been ignoring this issue but the stud is still stuck in the head, protruding out just a bit. Any recommendations for the safest way to get this out so I can reuse these threads?? No luck with my own attempts using pb blaster and a cheap clamp-style extractor. I would have someone else do the work if easy enough— maybe machine a small square with 1/4” hole taken out, place over stud and weld around edge, then rotate out with a wrench?

Appreciate the input of those experienced, thanks

I recently did this repair on a customer car. He had the vanos worked on years ago and it seems the previous mechanic had cross threaded the corner stud (Valve cover/that area wasn't touched since that repair). When I pulled the valve cover to start a valve adjustment the corner stud was sitting ~3mm away from the surface of the head and was seized in place. This prevented that corner from sealing and the car had a huge mess of oil/grime along the side of the engine as it was left like that for a long time. I tried multiple ways to get it out and none worked and it eventually sheared off exactly like yours. The fix which worked great was to use a M7x1.0 Time-Sert kit. I started by masking off everything (very important to take your time here and make sure everything is masked off completely as there will be shavings) followed by using a dremel tool with a grinding bit to make the surface of the broken stud as flat as possible. I was then able to center punch the stud and then drilled the center with a small drill bit. I gradually drilled the hole larger and larger until I removed the remaining stud material. From there I used the Time-Sert kit to repair the hole.

Link to the repair kit you will need
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[George Hill]

As Dan said above, you are going to have to time sert this.

These front screws break off all the time, I see it quite frequently.

Drill the stud, extract any remaining material and time sert.

[Casa de Mesa]

+2 on following DanAvon7's advice.

I've not done it on a head bolt, but have extracted similar studs using a series of increasing sized drill bits. Sometimes if you reverse the drill direction, it will back itself out with the drill bit. Especially if you let the stud cool a bit after heat has been generated - that stud will swell a bit, so keep that in mind. Don't rush it.

I've not used a Time-Sert kit, but it looks like a great solution.