I'm no mechanic. I have a 02 250 with a V 10 that I've had since new.
75000 miles.
Ford dealer says my exhaust manifold is cracked and should be replaced.
I would probably not have known but now that I know about it I can hear that the engine sounds slightly different.
My regular mechanic says if it was his truck, he would do nothing about the manifold unless it got much worse.
I've sat on this situation for a year or more but now I think I'm going to have it word on.
Any suggestions? Replace w stock, go w headers etc?
Thank you

 

It needs to be replaced. The leak can throw off your O2 sensors and screw up the A/F ratio.

As for the headers vs manifolds, there is a trade off. The stock manifolds are quieter and you don't need to retighten the studs every so often. Headers are more noisy but the bolts need to be checked/retightened every now and then. You usually pick up a little more horsepower/torque with the headers.

I replaced my OE manifolds around 25k miles with Thorley headers. I still have my stock like new manifolds I would sell if someone needed them.

 

Thanks
Confirms what I was planning.
How'd the Thorleys work out for you?
What did you do about the rest of the exhaust system?

 

The Thorleys have worked well for me thus far. I have had them for around 6 years now. I just retighten the header bolts on average once a year and give them a coat of header paint a few times a year and that is about it. The low end torque increase was very noticeable on my truck. You don't have to do as much painting and stuff if you don't live in the rust belt.

The rest of the exhaust is explained in this thread. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-fm70-mod.html

However I have recently replaced the steel Force II catback in that thread with the Stainless version.

 

I would go the header route too. If on a budget, get the painted hedmans. If not, the Thorleys.

 

From reading only part of another thread about the Heddmans, I think I'll go with the Thorleys.
Not sure about the rest of it from that point rearward.
I guess I should bite the bullet and replace everything.