Yippee!!! Finally broke a manifold stud (or two)

[Carpainter29]

I guess the waiting game begins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joe_jeep]

what do you think it would cost roughly to have this done at quality exhaust shop??

[Jones02SportTrac]

Art -

Your experience caused me to look at my exhaust studs/bolts and I think I've found one that has backed away from the manifold. With a flashlight, I think I can see a gap between the nut and the manifold. I want to put a wrench on it and tighten it but I'm afraid of breaking the stud in half. What's your take? Do you think I should just attempt to loosen and re-tighten the nut or plan to take care of it when I want to replace the manifolds alltogether?

On a side note, one of the reasons I checked them out was because I hear a fluttery exhaust sound coming from the approximate location of the loose nut. Could the fluttery, hissy sound (which only happens momentarilly when the trailer is attached) be due to gas blowing around the stud?

[Krewat]

Sounds like it's leaking... the gaskets I took out were layers of sheet metal, with no real sealing or other glue holding them together (anymore?).

If they leak, I can imagine it being a "fluttery hissy" sound.

I noticed mine were gone because I heard an actual tick at WOT. Scared the bejeesus out of me... thought it was a plug.

Anyway, I can't really say one way or the other, on what to do with that "loose nut".

Try tightening it. Be CAREFUL. If it won't budge, it's not "loose" if you know what I mean

[Jones02SportTrac]

I hear ya on the be careful thing. I'm not usually such a woosey about such things but the prospect of breaking off a stud just doesn't do much for me. I'd rather be pulling the toy hauler around than spending a week doing what you did. At least I don't want to be forced into it.

So I'll give it a try. I'll try to back the nut off a little and see if I can get it to twist up tighter against the manifold. If it breaks, I'm going to be bummed.

[Krewat]

Originally Posted by Jones02SportTrac

If it breaks, I'm going to be bummed.

In all honesty, if it does break, drill it and use an easy-out on it, and replace the one stud.

And wait for the next one (if ever).

Most of mine would NEVER have had a problem. Certain ones were SHOT.

If you're lucky enough to have only one go bad, fix it before the leak gets really bad.

I would rather do one broken stud with an easy-out, than remove the whole thing to put a pair of vice-grips on it

By the way, don't take the long elapsed time for this job as being it's really going to take someone else that long. I'm milking it for all the "alone" time it's worth. And the off-center drilling on that one broken stud that broke below the surface of the head? Beer induced...

[metalman1320]

Originally Posted by krewat

By the way, don't take the long elapsed time for this job as being it's really going to take someone else that long. I'm milking it for all the "alone" time it's worth. And the off-center drilling on that one broken stud that broke below the surface of the head? Beer induced...

Ah Ha!! I knew alcohol was involved!! Why else would someone get this excited about having to change exhaust manifold studs on a V10 and drag it out for weeks!!

Did I miss it, or have you decided whether or not to wrap your headers?

Keep up the good work Art. I'm thoroughly enjoying this thread!!

[sewerat]

When I bought my EX it had 4 broken bolts and would not pass a saftey or an E_Test so i had to get it done right away. I had the local shop in town do it for me and the total bill to do the job was about $1200 can. What they did was to weld a special kind of rod(don't ask I don't know what kind) onto the broken studs. Some were broken inside the block and some were broken outside then grab them with the vice grips and the walked right out easy. I think by the time they had the manifolds off they had to weld to 6 or 7 studs, then replaced them all with the new upgraded ford TSB parts. $300 worth of bolts mind you but they should last for awhile now.

[Krewat]

Originally Posted by metalman1320

Ah Ha!! I knew alcohol was involved!! Why else would someone get this excited about having to change exhaust manifold studs on a V10 and drag it out for weeks!!

Did I miss it, or have you decided whether or not to wrap your headers?

Excited? Because for $200, I can buy headers, sell the manifolds on eBay and ALMOST make my money back, considering I don't need to buy a stud set...

Wrap? Not considering it at this point... I think I'd rather button up any gaps in the wheel well, and possibly make sheet-metal shields for the underside of the headers to keep them from getting splashed on. Believe it or not, I do actually SOMETIMES get this thing very dirty...

Alcohol? Well, it was late in the day, needed to get SOMETHING done that day, so drilled straight through the bolt. I caught it so close that the threads are on the stud. But you can see through the gaps inbetween in one area. But still enough in the hole to keep a stud in there (and some cylindrical-lock loctite.

[Jones02SportTrac]

Dude, my stud was broken! I put the socket on the nut and turned ever-so-lightly and off it came. At first I thought the nut was turning but nope, the stud simply was hanging on by a thread. It's broken off at the head level so there's nothing to be gained by removing the manifold. So now I get to try a reverse drill bit and an easy out I guess. Any suggestions? Helpful hints? Is there a tool with a guide that I can drill a quick hole right through the center of the broken stud?

[Jones02SportTrac]

BTW - check out these headers on Ebay. They're less than $200 shipped. Are these for real? The gasket looks ok, not one of those paper ones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-04-F250-F350-Ford-V10-Stainless-Steel-HD-Headers_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33631QQihZ013QQ itemZ230112432007QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[Krewat]

Originally Posted by Jones02SportTrac

Is there a tool with a guide that I can drill a quick
hole right through the center of the broken stud?

That's what I was thinking while I was doing mine. A nice little jig to pass the bit through. If none exist, the potential for inventing one might be something to consider

The only thing I can think of is a center-punch that is the diameter of the hole. I remember my friend the machinist having those, and thinking "wow, that's perfect for bolt-broken-off-in-the-hole". As long as you have a straight line of sight, and a center-punch, you should be able to start in the middle and not creep too far out of whack.

I'll say one thing, I used a regular drill bit, not a left-handed one. Even the cleanest studs were pretty tight, almost an interference fit.

I hesitate to mention what size bits and easy-outs I used for fear that it's not the "correct" thing to do and screwing you up, especially as you're "down in the hole" so to speak.

[Jones02SportTrac]

Thinking about it, I'm just going to put another bolt on the drill press and cut a hole straight through the middle. That ought to be a pretty good guide. The only thing I'm worried about is if a drill will fit in the engine compartment... might have to go out a get a little 90 degree pneumatic just for this job.

[Krewat]

I was lucky - I got my Ryobi cordless 18V in on the driver's side (rear-most bottom bolt).

The passenger side? Had to jack up the engine as far as the tranny dipstick would let it. And beyond.

But again, bottom rear-most hole.

Which one broke?

[Antelope V-10]

I have a couple of different sets of these. I have never used them though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Craftsman-Dr...QQcmdZViewItem

Do thing they would work? They come in different sizes too.