I have a 2003 FX4 4.6 140,000 miles that the Passenger Side manifold actually rooted in half. Got on the the junk yard and only had three three screws break off while replacing. I reused the stainless steal gaskets and left out the broken screws 18 months ago. Thought it was leaking at 6 months and found the EGR Nut gone on the Drivers Side. Tried to figure out an easy fix and couldnt. So I bit the bullet and ordered the nipple and went to ford for the tube. Spent 2 hrs working on the nipple and it finally broke free and I was able to unscrew it by hand. It is a complete pain the get at with the manifold on the truck but the bolts are so poor you cant take the chance. The bolts I replaced in the Pass Side look like they have been there since 2003 already. I hope to find a truck to strip and redo the frame so I can put my body on.

 

Morning, Gents. I am new to the forum and just acquired a 2000 F-150 4.6L 4x4. This truck came form the 'rust belt' NE Ohio. The EGR nut was gone on my tube as well and I had a friend weld the joint to stop the horrendous noise. Now, for some reason there seems to be a slight leak coming from somewhere still. When the truck is at an idle you cant hear anything. Only when pressing on the throttle and revving it up do you hear it. Or, when driving and you stomp on it to merge onto the interstate or pulling a hill is it more pronounced. I took it to a local mechanic shop and they used a stethoscope type device to listen for the noise while I revved the engine every few seconds. They really couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. To me it almost sounded as it the air noise was coming from somewhere toward the top of the engine maybe on top but toward the firewall. I don't know. The truck only has 64,000 miles on it and its a shame if this problem cant be solved. What are the chances it something with the EGR tube? Is this a common problem once the rust starts to set in? I know enough about cars to be dangerous but Ive never had to experience exhaust or vacuum leaks so Im a novice when it comes to these issues. Oh, and I thought it could be manifold gaskets but there isn't any evidence of carbon stains around the ports or visible cracks. Im at a loss and don't want to spend a thousand dollars to trying to verify the problem. Any ideas?

 

Exhaust manifold

 

I have an f150, 5.4. One of the bolts to the tailpipe rust thru and the other is code. Otherwise everything seem fin, at least for now. Is it possible to drive or press out the originals (in the truck) ang go with normal nuts and bolts? Tx

 

dtruax01

Want to try your ground clamp method. Do you have a picture of what the end result looks like? If so, can you post or Private Message me as I may do a step by step write up on this and post to add to your ultimate fix for this common issue. Figured it would be my contribution after my first post to this Forum.

ValpoFord