So while doing some simple routine maintenance I manage to snap the upper of the header bolts off in my case, which I have since learned is kind of a normal problem.  

So a friend with a bolt extractor came over and together we managed a small crack in left sidewall of the hole where the bolt goes in.  

I tried to hunt down a used cylinder head assembly on ebay to no avail, perhaps I'm using the wrong search term?  

I'm not really trying to spend 650-$800 on a new head but I guess I would if I had to.  

Has this happened to anyone before?  Could welding be a cheap option?  

Does anyone just have a cheap assembled low mileage head they'd sell me  

The action on the exhaust pipe connection is the flattened washer/flat flange surface on the header pipe.

Your cracked section as shown is meaningless --- get the old spud out and tap in a new mounting bolt -- and remember once it starts to seat and crush the gasket washer STOP TIGHTING.

Tightening the bolt past that point does nothing except smash the gasket washer totally flat sooner than it needs to be.

That gasket is reuseable several times, just snugging it down until it seats each time.

When you go back to it, it is always seemingly "loosey goosey" and loosens quite easily -- that is the nature of the crushable washer system.

People who bust off header bolts are going about it all wrong -- a lack of knowledge actually.

Ive typed this so many times Im really tired of it, BUT, You need it, so

A 1/4" ratchet, short extension, 6 point socket, Thumb on ratchet head, fingers open with just the ends wrapped around the ratchet handle, Close fingers, work the ratchet with just your hand, dont grip it like a knife & use your arm, FEEL of the way the bolt is tightening. When it tells you its landed, STOP.. Its ever so much better to go back in a week & snug it again because you didnt get it tight enough than go thru this kind of disaster.
Serowbot may have a pretty good answer there, IF youre clever enough to find a way to  get a spring in the mix there.. You can still use the one bolt. The tension needed to hold the pipe in place isnt that huge,,getting the spring pulling the right way to make it work, finding a mount point mite be a bit of a head scratcher,,maybe a trip to a machine shop is in order.. Remember, it doesnt HAVE to look stock or even be close, the deal now is, get the pipe on it & make it hold the gasket snug enough,, If ya cant swing the spring thing,, mite be time to haul it to a machine shop,, but you clearly dont have the equipment or experience to fix the problem it has turned into,,Ive got a lot of time messing with stuff & from the looks of that I would be at the machine shop option,, I dont think I could fix that "right".. Id either have to go with the spring option or take it to a pro.

Exhaust springs just mute any latent play in the system, you still need to bolt the header flange to the engine.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 05/18/14 at 10:31:58:

Write it up as a PM message,.. and save it as a draft... ...

Clean it very..very well, then get yourself some alumiweld, check out a few YouTube videos, you need mapp gas...b tank...oxy aceteline. The stuff works, I've used it a couple times. You could always jb weld and tap it

Sounds disappointing,, for the most part, with a coupla bright spots tossed in, Yea, not the right place,, glad ya got outta the school system,,