Well posting this picture to force myself out of denial. My truck has spent more time on jack stands than rolling down the road for months with a variety of mods and repairs. Few days ago I noticed a small cold start ticking sound that went away once the truck was warm. Long list of possibilities and recent service and repairs, with one of those being plugs, but I was 99.99% sure I didn't have a loose plug! To be sure I pulled the coils and double checked, darn all tight.

Deep down I knew what is was but for a day or two I decided to not look and just live in my denial. Well this morning I started her and opened the hood and listened to each coil, injector, on the valve covers, any place I could reach with a tube in my ear, nothing noticeable but the expected injector noise. Shut her off and let her cool for awhile - still in denial and been there done with with exhaust burns. Finally gave in and started her back up this afternoon, stick my head in the wheel well and under the edge of the truck and my tick get's louder, don't need my hose to tell it's definitely on the bottom side rear of the engine. Denial is about to end.... So I grab the big light and crawl the rest the way under and find this on the passenger side manifold.


This lonely stud without a nut has an equally lonely sister on the other side both second to rear. Refusing to climb up and stick my head down from the topside for now to check the top 10 bolts. That denial thing again.

Read about this issue, the fixes, the stud removal at length (did I say yet i knew this was coming?) so don't really have any questions to ask you guys right now but I am sure I will. Just posting this as step 1 in my 12 step program to come to grips with the fact that I got a manifold to replace and some stud extraction fun!

By the way - no coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant, not using either of them either. Guess that's good news, and the fact that at least these two are not broken off flush with the head, without a manifold on there it looks like there is a bit of stud to work with anyway.

 

Looks like that nut has been gone for awhile. What year is you ex? You doing the repairs?

 

Yes it probably has but with the rust history on this truck an exposed bolt would have taken no time to look that bad, truck was sorely abused by New England road salt. I have only had it since July and although I know about every square inch of the rest of it, I have not taken a good look at manifold bolts, had I feeling what I would find when I did and had more pressing issues. It's a 2000 with 80k on it.

And yes on the work as much as I can myself, and will call in some favors on the rest for tools and muscle. When the budget allows it's next up on the to do list.

 

Next time you hear a tick like that it will either be a loose spark plug, exhaust leak, valve lifter, or a spark jumping. They all sound a lot alike. If it were my truck I wouldn't bother with it unless some more broke since it is a job you won't want to tackle and it's not a big deal anyway. Mine ticks when cold but I haven't even bothered to look for it and I know it isn't a plug. Since you did such a good job on those plugs I wouldn't have started there. Searching in here and on the SD forum can save you a lot of time and work. Search with something like; ticking noise, ticks when cold, etc.

 

I read for over an hour before I touched it, everything on the "possible" list with the exception of it being something internal like a lifter, I knew I had just serviced. I knew what it was, just had to double check those plugs to be sure, my old Ex back in 2001 blew a plug at 67k after the dealership changed them at 61k. Now granted I did it the right way, but still had to check.

Had a small drip around that bolt when I started it again tonight, it isn't coolant, it's water. Like 4 drips that splashed off the y-pipe right after I started it, then it stopped. Guess that is just condensation inside the manifold that would usually blow out the exhaust but with the busted bolt it can drip out?

 

I did mine myself and I'm not a mechanic. It does take time and patience. My little write up is here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...s-project.html

If you go the easy-out route for extracting, it's a little tedious drilling the pilot holes in the old studs. You don't want to wander off center and mess the threads up. But if you get a good pilot hole like me, they come right out. The very last one I broke the drill off in. I had to go borrow a small mig welder and zapped a few dots of weld onto the stud, then held a nut up and welded in the center of the nut. A socket and ratchet turned it right out. The welding rout is prolly easier and quicker. Good luck!!

 

Are you going to put a set of headers on?

 

That goes to show you that when someone else works on your vehicle even though they are highly qualified they never have the same interest you do so you could say you could probably do a better job. As an example; did you ever notice when you loan your vehicle out half the time it comes back screwed up but you could drive it for years with no problems?
That must be condensation this time of the year and it can easily come out of that hole. Also, if you decide to remove that stud with a right angle drill in reverse it might spin out with just a reverse twist bit since it is just sitting in there with no resistance on it.
That dealer "mechanic" probably got side-tracked and had one in there just finger tight. I have mentioned this in posts and it's easy to do with 10 holes.

 

Yes you have mentioned that and I listened, one hole open at any one time, one out, clean, set the boot w/grease, threads with anitseize, finger tight, torque, COP on, tighten bolt, old plug in new box labeled with cylinder #, 1 down 9 more to go.

 

Lol, you did good but too bad you can't say the same for the dealer.

 

Put all new ones in and dont look back. aint nothing but a thing.

 

Ya I miss that truck, wish I had never let her go, except that plug which wasn't her fault she was a gem.

All set on plugs those were done last month, onto manifold for now.

 

If you decide to remove that stud, where is it and what is the clearance like? Can you get a hammer and center punch in there, how about a regular drill and bit. Are you going to fix it at all. Mine probably has one too but not everything needs to be fixed.

 

I found the ticking noise, which was a small gap where the Y-pipe bolts into the exhaust and I was able to tighten it, looks like it was replaced at some time in the past, it wasn't that bad. No more cold start tick. Those two broken studs are 2nd from the rear on both sides, I can see and probably reach them both via the wheel wells with the liners out, but....

1. It's been that way for some time obviously.
2. Nothing is leaking
3. I got no codes
4. I got no sounds
5. I don't smell exhaust except where you are supposed to smell it
6. Truck runs better than it has since the day I bought it.
7. It's freakin cold outside and my garage only gets "so warm".
8. It's tedious PITA to fix it and we all only get so much patience in life.
9. Don't see the "do nothing" approach for now will cause any major damage.
10. I got two kids at Purdue and they give the wallet a workout.

So I'm back in denial unless it gives me a reason that outweighs 1-10 above, to have to deal with it....

 

Being wise != denial.