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A y pipe bolt broke trying to disconnect to get to my alternator in my 98 mystique. They are not that easy to get to. What are my options now?  

i am taking that you are talking about one of the studs/bolts that stick out of the exhaust manifold to hold the Y pipe flanges tight..

you have several options....    i looked around and could not find replacement exhaust manifolds for the V6 model you probably have...  so they might be a ford dealer item...  they don't seem to be on the motorcraft or ford web site.. but a lot of parts are not on there..

you can drill the old bolt out...     use a nut and bolt to hold the 2 sections together...

start with cheep bits like 1/8...    once you drill through.. go to the bigger bits..



if they are a cast iron exhaust manifold... they might be a stud... that with cobalt drill bits you can drill right through..  lots of WD40 while drilling...  be sure to remove the oxygen sensors and protect them...   you don't want drilling oil to splash them directly...    

one more thing...  there are some muffler shops..  who have really talented techs..  who can weld a nut to the rest of the broken stud.. then use a torch to head the manifold and back the broken part out...


if you soak the exhaust flange bolts where they go into the head..  you can remove the exhaust manifold if you are careful...  if the bolts get tight.. you don't want to go farther.. back in with more WD40...     i had to remove a broken off bolt in a cylinder head about 6 months ago..  i should have bid to remove the head... i spend 3 days drilling it out..  oh.. it should have taken about 2 hours.. as i was drilling it.. it started to turn in..  so i tried a brand new... easy out..  it was too small but it was the size of the pilot hole i drilled..  i managed to snap it off..  oh well.. i will just drill along beside it.. slowly carefully.. i drilled along side..  got all the way to the back of the broken part..  went through.. as i was backing the drill bit out. it snapped off next to the easy out..  i sent the next day in there with the smallest bit i had for my dremel... carving the stud away.. so i could get the drill bit out and the broken easy out section out.. to remove the what was left of the broken stud..

so....   you really really really.. want to be careful NOT to break off a bolt in the head....   spray the flange bolts and let it sit .. spray them again...   once you get them turning ... spray them again..    oh.. there are tiny cans of wd 40 that are much easier to move in close quarters...   some HVAC suppliers.. commercial heater and air conditioner wholesale suppliers will have 18" wd 40 nozzle straws...


oh .. try to use grade 8 hardware if you are going to drill and use a nut and bolt...  or metric hardware...  grade 8 has 6 stripes on the head...      the same strength in metric is 12.9 on the head...  

find a scrap of carpet to lay on...  be sure to use at least eyewear to prevent chips from falling on or in your eyes.. and brush off your face when you climb up...   i keep a magnetic bolt holder and run that across my face to catch any metal drillings before they fall into my eyes when i brush my face off...  the bits always catch in your eyebrows and eyelashes.  

If its a stud and there is at least a 1/4 inch sticking out you can use a stud remover on it. Its a special socket that goes over the stud and when you turn it counter clockwise it locks onto it. It works best if you have a torch and you can heat up the manifold around  the threads of the stud until its cherry red.