I took my truck to have exhaust manifold gaskets put on. mechanic broke and had to drill 14 of the 20 bolts. after 2 weeks i finally got it back. Drove it 5 miles and it leaked a gallon of anitfreeze from around the exhaust manifold bolts. Any input on this?

 

Sounds like your mechanic probably drilled into a water jacket. If it took him 2 weeks to do the original job I'd hate to think how long it will take him to replace a head!

He does warranty his work, right?

Who knows, maybe it's a coincidence.

 

ive used this guy for years and this is the first problem ive ever had with him

 

That sounds bad. Wonder how deep did he had to drill to get in to water jacket.

 

i know he got at least 1 hole off centered because he cut the hole out of the manifold to make it work. i didnt like that

 

Mechanic -> <- You

 

Smack the guy. I took great pains to make sure when I was drilling out studs that I marked the depth of the drill and did NOT go too far. Off-center? Amateur.

However, having said that, there are bolts in all sorts of Ford motors (FEs come to mind) where the bolt hole goes through into the water jacket.

If he won't replace the head, or better yet, pay for SOMEONE ELSE to replace the head, bring it back, and tell him to use some sort of sealant on the bolt. That should stop the leak.

Then find another mechanic. It might not be him, but some newbie he has working for him. Costing him $'s will (usually) cause him to fire the newbie.

 

well.. both sides are leaking and i really dont want it "patched up" i want it fixed right. its a 99 f250 that only has 60,000 actual miles on it.

 

Wow, both sides... Bring it back and let him know whoever did the drilling broke through into the water jacket, and you want new heads.

 

Not to start an arguement, but do FE exhaust bolts really go through water jackets? I know lots of head bolts go into water jackets in the block (which are easily sealed with sealant), but I've never seen an exhaust manifold bolt go into one in the head. But then again I've never worked on an FE Ford.

 

I wasn't talking about exhaust bolts.

Timing cover bolts, water pump bolts, do

 

All the more reason to be .

 

Make sure 2003 heads.

 

i'd love some 03 heads and now would be the time to do it but i dont have the extra cash for the PI intake..ect.. to go with.

 

Definately take it back. You should be due a set of new or remanufactured heads.