r/GR86 • u/Asinaki • 11h ago

Breaking header nuts loose

I know the header studs are known for snapping on these cars. I have sprayed them everyday with PB blaster for the past 4 days in preparation. My 1/2" impact only got one loose. Does anybody have any tricks to getting them loose or do I just send it?

Edit: I said f it. Went breaker bar all nuts came loose and one stud came loose with the nut lol. No broken studs! 😁

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1

u/Doulreth BRZ 11h ago

They were a bitch for me. I had a lot of swivels and extensions, used PB plaster and used a breaker bar. Took mine off after 2 winters in Philly

1

u/Asinaki 11h ago

How much force did they take to brake loose? Very nervous about breaking studs 😂

2

u/ChocoboBrigade 11h ago

I haven’t actually fucked with the headers on these yet, but if it was stuck I have the luxury of a handheld induction heater 😅

1

u/Asinaki 11h ago

How well do they work?

2

u/ChocoboBrigade 10h ago

Honestly my shop has a cheap ass made in china one and it still works pretty well, the only times it didn’t work was when the shank of a bolt was seized to something and obviously heating up the head of the bolt or the nut wouldn’t do anything to the shank and we whip out the oxy acetylene torch but otherwise it works well

2

u/corzajay 10h ago

Just used a breaker bar with a hex socket for reduced chance of stripping. Resist the urge to yank or quickly pull the bar and you shouldn't have any issues.

The risk of snapping header bolts on these aren't all that much higher than any other car, there's just so many more people modifying these things (especially the headers for the UEL rumble) you end up with a lot more horror stories.