If it ain't one thing, it's another...

Well, the GTS is down again for another week. When I checked out the exhaust leak, I discovered that one of the exhaust studs had completely fallen out of the cylinder head! Of course, this stud is not just a run of the mill part either, it's a 7mm stud that apparently no one carries, besides Vespa. Luckily Vespa does have them in stock, so hopefully it should be here this week. However, it still remains to be seen whether the threads are still ok inside the head, or if they're stripped. If they are damaged or stripped, my best bet will probably be to epoxy the stud in there with some JB Weld, although I'm concerned that the heat might be too much for it to hold in the long run, since it's about 1/4 inch away from the exhaust port. Failing that, I'll need to either install an insert, if I can even find a 7mm one, or tap it out and install a larger stud. Hopefully it won't come to that, but we'll see. Wish me luck!