Can someone fill me in on the bolt situation on these things ????

 

Here is some reading on broken manifold bolts...

Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - Search Results

 

They break. Expansion and contraction of the manifold and head, stud diameter too small, corrosion and etc causes them to snap off. Switching over to a set of headers pretty much solves the problem.

 

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Speaking of expansion/contraction and thermal stress, sometimes I wonder if my manual tranny V-10 is running cooler than your auto-tranny V-10 . It is a known fact that the liquid-coupling of auto-tranny creates a lot of heat ( to a point that enough to burn the tranny oil under heavy towing ) . Also , Ford manual gives only one radiator capacity which leads me to believe that all radiators ( for auto and manual tranny have the same cooling capacity) . Also, we know that the bigger the "delta T" the bigger the thermal stress .

My 2003 V-10 with manual tranny does not have any broken studs, at least not yet ( knock on the wood ) . Is it possible that the cooler running manual tranny do not reach the treshold "delta T" to create enough thermal stress to break the studs (Remember that I tow an RV with a substantial weight ) .

I would like to hear from other V-10 owners with manual tranny if they have any broken studs . There is a possibility that my V-10 may be running a lot cooler than yours .

This is purely a hypothetical thought , I did not conduct any lab tests or any study to confirm above theory.

 

I don't know if your theory on this subject could be correct or not, I never gave it any thought. I have an 2003, 6.8, ZF6, with 101000 on the clock it still has the original manifold studs. The thermostat is still going to open at the same temp whether it's a manual or auto. I don't believe this theory holds any water but let others chime in here.

 

Your truck being in Florida helps. I put on headers at around 20k miles to avoid broken studs.

When towing it doesn't really matter what tranny you have IMO. The high exhaust gas temps and prolonged high rpm towing with high engine loads heats the manifolds up FAR hotter than the trans will ever reach. Northern winters do a good job at corroding up the nuts on the studs. It is also not uncommon for studs to be broken but the nuts don't fall off because they are stuck to the manifold.

 

[quote=KOESTNER;11079761]. The thermostat is still going to open at the same temp whether it's a manual or auto.quote]

Thanks for your response . Car radiator thermostat controls only "the lower limit" temperature , it does not control higher temperature as opposed to a home heating system thermostat does . Radiator may run much higher without us knowing it (until we see the steam coming out is the upper limit) .

 

dkf,

That is true . On the other hand , a good portion of the studs are in engine block and an engine block with an auto-tranny should be running hotter than a manual tranny (it should , due to additional btu's coming from tranny oil to the radiator which can not cool as low as a radiator with a manual tranny) . The other side of the coin , like you pointed out , much higher temp gases going thru and heating the studs and some of the heat being transferred to engine block cooling the studs (plus additional air cooling ) . If engine block is running a bit hotter or cooler will certainly have an effect on the end-result thermal stress . But , if the flow of exhaust gases is so much and the heat transfer to the engine block is rather "miniscule", then , there goes my theory (sound of a toilet flush !) . By the way , I find "Koestner's" response interesting since he is from snow country .

Let's hear from owners' of V-10 with manual tranny if they have broken studs.

 

I own both, and both have broken studs. The manual has 54k miles and never really worked hard. The X has 102k and never really been used hard either. I had all the brolen studs replaced on the X recently and will install headers on the F250 soon.

 

i think both of the v 10's with sticks have already chimed in ! haha iknow i could'nt find one when i was lookin. barry

 

Sparky , thanks for your response which proved that my theory was not valid afterall ( another sound of flushing toilet) . This is an either or situation without any exception , and your response is already one too many .

Nevertheless, it was a very educational discussion for me . Besides where else I can get such quick and reliable data other than this discussion forum .

I thank to all of you who took the time to respond . Buttom line is that there is no guarantee that I will not show up here few months down the road seeking for advice on how to repair my truck's broken exhaust studs . This alone a very useful piece of data for me , thanks to this forum .

 

Looks like some do have problems and some don't. I purchased this 03 with 109K on the clock dose not look like any things been changed excecpt what I have done on the Y pipe and cat back 4" which by the way at hand calc about 1/3 city and the rest Hwy she came in a little over 17 Mpg. very happy with that to say the least. I am 57 yrs drive like I am 70

 

Just replaced mine (V10 auto) at 35,000 miles. It lived in NJ 8 yrs and Key West, Fl 2 yrs.