Exhaust Stud Replacement Screwup / Oh no!!!
#1
Exhaust Stud Replacement Screwup / Oh no!!!
Well my local garage just called me to give me the bad news... They were drilling out one of the broken studs on my V10 powered 08 F350, and said the drill bit must have gone off center... There is now coolant leaking out of one exhaust stud hole on the passenger side....
They are now going to take it all apart again, and remove the cylinder head...
My question is, can the head be repaired by welding in some new aluminum, and then drilled and tapped for the stud, or is the head now garbage? I got a quote from the local ford dealer for a new head, and I nearly passed out...
They are now going to take it all apart again, and remove the cylinder head...
My question is, can the head be repaired by welding in some new aluminum, and then drilled and tapped for the stud, or is the head now garbage? I got a quote from the local ford dealer for a new head, and I nearly passed out...
#4
The shop has admitted they messed up. I also talked to a local automotive machine shop, and they are saying there are 2 ways to fix it. One is to drill out a larger hole, tap it, and put in a machined insert, that already has a center hole drilled and tapped for the stud. They claim they have never had one leak using this method. If that is not an option, then the head will have to be removed to have it welded.
The whole thing has me kind of ticked off... and I let the shop know it. I do not like band-aid solutions, but at the same time I do not want them taking the motor half apart to remove the head, if it can be avoided.
The whole thing has me kind of ticked off... and I let the shop know it. I do not like band-aid solutions, but at the same time I do not want them taking the motor half apart to remove the head, if it can be avoided.
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#7
Update:
I stopped by at the garage last week, and looked at the heads. The one stud hole was sure messed up...
After much discussion, I decided the best solution was to have the head removed, welded, and then drilled and tapped. After further discussions with the machine shop that would do the work, they suggested drilling and tapping all of the stud holes for 3/8 studs. They said they have done this many times before. Since removing the second head is not that much more work for the garage, I told the shop to have both heads done this way.
While this is going to cost me a bit more, I think it is worth it. This should never need doing again, no matter how long I own the truck.
I stopped by at the garage last week, and looked at the heads. The one stud hole was sure messed up...
After much discussion, I decided the best solution was to have the head removed, welded, and then drilled and tapped. After further discussions with the machine shop that would do the work, they suggested drilling and tapping all of the stud holes for 3/8 studs. They said they have done this many times before. Since removing the second head is not that much more work for the garage, I told the shop to have both heads done this way.
While this is going to cost me a bit more, I think it is worth it. This should never need doing again, no matter how long I own the truck.
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#9
My guess is that Ford saved about $5 per vehicle using 5/16 instead of 3/8. The engineers likely called for 3/8, but the bean counters insisted on 5/16!
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