I've got a '97 Expedition EB with the 5.4L. It has about 118k and has been a great ride with very few problems. However now I've got an exhaust leak at the manifold on the driver's side, first cylinder. I'm a do-it-yourselfer but this looks like a tight place to work. I would have to go through the fenderwell but some components may need to be moved so this may be getting over my head.

Has anyone else done this repair themselves? I'm sure the F150/250 and Expeditions are all about the same under the hood (4x4). How difficult of a job was it to replace the exhaust gasket and what did you have to move out of the way?

Or is it worth biting the bullet and "paying the man" down at the local repair shop and just get it over with.

Thanks!

 

Normally, the leak is caused by broken studs in the head. You might look for missing studs.

 

You mean the studs that hold the manifold on? I felt around and everything is tight and all the nuts are in place.

I'm pretty sure it's the gasket (at least I hope!). Looking up from below with a flashlight I can see a chunk missing and the black residue on the manifold where it's blowing by.

 

You may have gotten lucky then. If you can reach all of the nuts, then you could try it yourself. Just keep in mind that one could break when removing the nut. I personally would try it myself first.

 

Whats your mileage? I had a similar sound to an exhaust leack to find out it was a spark knock. You may consider changing the plugs out. I had 110k miles at the time.

 

Okay - fixed and runs great. My best advice - don't try this yourself. The combination of the exhaust leak and a minor tune-up set me back $850 but it's a huge improvement. The word on the studs is that you can expect to pay a shop between $70-90 for each one that breaks and they have to remove/replace (do the math on that one and see how fast the bill adds up!). That's for the ones they can get to. If it's one way back by the firewall or obstructed somehow, worst case scenario is that they would have to pull the head to get to it (and the manifold, and countless other components). Then you'd be talking some serious dough.

I lucked out and the shop only broke one stud but were able to back it out with no drilling so no extra cost. PHEW! If anyone out there is going through the same problem this is a good measure to see how honest/credible the shop you're considering is. The one I went to "Gaynors Automotive in Vancouver, WA" was very upfront with me about the possible pitfalls and potential costs of doing this repair should it not go smoothly. Others I got quotes from didn't even mention it until I started asking a lot of questions and they realized I knew a little more than their common customer.

Now I'm considering an exhaust upgrade - no headers, just mufflers and possibly a high flow cat. I'm pretty sold on Flowmasters but since this is my wife's daily driver I don't want to over do it on the rumble. Can someone tell me which of the Flowmaster (or other brand) systems is a little quieter than the other options but still has a good tone?

Thanks much-
Greg