well heres the route im gonna take, i cant really afford the world products heads right now, im not gonna take the risk of trying 4.0 components, im just gonna find a good 2.9 89 or later, im not gonna make things more complicating.

 

I am in the process or replacing exhaust manifold gaskets on my 2.9 Bronco ii. Does anyone know what kind (size) the exhaust manifold bolts are? Some place said they are metric M8...is that right??

 

DID YOU BREAK SOME BOLTS TOO?

 

Yes I did 2 bolts broke so far, i'm spraying PB Blast and letting it soak. The Autozone repair site doesn't say what bolts work for the 2.9 motor...but for the 4.0 they show M8x 46.5 MM bolts. Will those work on a 2.9? I Went to auto parts stores, Muffler shops..no luck, so i went to the local Ford dealership and he quoted me $14.99. Not for a set...PER BOLT!! I'm not paying $150.00 for 10 bolts.

 

Just go to the wrecking yard and pull some...might break a few along the way, but the ones that come out should certainly be cheaper than the stealership price...

 

well im not gonna worry about having to easy out my broke off bolts since im junking the heads, by the way i broke all but two bolts, and thats with soaking them in pb blaster, im not even gonna try the pipe to manifold bolts i can work around those.

 

so, if i come across a 2.9 merkur in the junkyard, what is the reputation for the heads those 2.9 s?

 

I broke bolts on an 86 2.9, I drilled all of the holes out, (after I had to extract the old bolts) and ran a new bolt with nuts and lock washers to secure the exhaust manifolds, it has been 9 years since I hasd done this and the exhaust does not leak and the truck is still on the road.

 

I Broke several bolts off on my right side exhaust manifold. I went to the hardware store and got some grade 8 bolts to replace the factory ones. And the 2.9 and 4.0 are not the same motor and the parts will not interchange.

 

ok, im still working on this truck, im almost done, i pulled 2.9 heads off a 1989 bronco 2, they are good, but while removing them the exhaust manifold bolts broke again, i took nobrandx's approach and drilled all the holes out, i bought stainless steel bolts washers and nuts, to replace, my question for you is how the heck did you get the nuts on the bottom bolts on each manifold, ive got all in on the driver's side except for the middle bottom, and the two last bottom ones on the passengers side, these last three are a real pain, how did you manage?

i am skrewd if i dont get these in, because these remaning holes are no longer threaded!!!!

 

Well, managed to break the Crossover Pipe Bolt heads off and pulled the heads off with the Exhaust Manifold intact, took my Craftsman Broken Bolt Head remover and got the Exh.Man. Bolts out. Had to drill the Crossover out. ANYWAYS, couldn't find any replacement bolts nearby, finally called the nearest Ford Dealer bout 20 miles away. Almost had a coronary when they told me the Exh.Man Bolts were $246 including Tax! I didn't even ask what the Flange Bolts cost. The parts lady was nice enought to tell me the Size, Pitch, and Length of them since there were 3 different lengths. Got on the phone and called a Hardware Supply place in Shreveport(LA) bout 75 miles north of here. When I told the partsman what I needed and he told me they would all be $ 30 I told him, "Ill be there in an hour and a half!!! Same Bolts(Heat Treated)Savings...probably $300 after gas and a Burger w/ fries. Something to think about when it comes to Fasteners.

 

how did you get to the manifold to get it out? I have a 89 ranger with the 2.9. i assume it has the same looking engine bay. i cant figure out how to get it out to replace the gaskets.