Squeeze each nut hard with vise-grips before and after soaking, in all
three directions if possible.  If they are not copper and have eroded away,
you may want to drive on the next smaller size  (six point ) socket.

Good luck,
Larry A.

On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 1:32 AM, Mark McCulley <markmcculley@gmail.com>
wrote:

> I'd like to replace my exhaust with some nice stainless GoWesty pipes. I'm
> concerned I'll encounter problems with the head studs though, they look
> really rusty and the headers haven't been removed since they were
> installed 13 years and 85K miles ago. Should I be concerned and have the
> job done by a pro or should I have confidence that the nuts (they're copper
> I think) will come off without damaging the studs? Just don't want to end
> up with my exhaust off and need to get the van to a shop to fix a stud (or
> head).
>
> Mark
> Vashon, WA
>