Broken exhaust stud

I have a 2007 Ford Focus ST with the 2.5 Volvo (HYDA) engine. It has two broken exhaust studs on the nearside of the engine, causing a squeal on start-up and for the first few minutes after a cold start. Although the combined manifold/turbo can be removed from underneath, the broken studs will need to be removed in some way and access looks very tight. I am aware of several methods of removing broken studs by drilling them out, using a screw extractor or welding a nut to them, but all of these would require enough access to clearly see what I’m doing. Is this possible on my car, or would the head (or complete engine) need to be removed?

I’m anticipating it needing a clutch soon so considering bringing this job forward as, with the gearbox removed, there should be enough room to do it. What do you think? Shaun Baker The book time to remove and refit the cylinderhead is 8.9 hours and the book time to remove and refit the engine and gearbox assembly is 6.5 hours. On this basis alone, if access to the broken stud was not possible, I would go the route of removing the engine and gearbox. The clutch can be changed without removing the gearbox and the book time for this is 4.9 hours. This effectively gives a labour time of only 1.6 hours to give a much greater access to the area.

Much depends on where the studs are broken and why. If the studs have sheared flush with the cylinderhead, the only option will be to drill and remove them, possibly with a screw extractor. However, if the stud has a protruding section, other options will be available, depending on how tightly it is secured in the cylinderhead.

I would take the job on a step-by-step basis and begin by removing the exhaust manifold/turbo assembly. If further access is required, the next step would be to remove the engine and gearbox, replacing the clutch as part of the job.

Before any of this, I would first ensure that the noise you are hearing is being caused by the broken studs – an exhaust blow from the manifold is normally a fluffing or ticking noise. The sound you describe may be one that is common on the HDYA engine, caused by the engine crankcase breather becoming blocked. This is easily diagnosed by removing the dipstick while the noise is present; if the noise stops, this would confirm a crankcase breather blockage.