Attempting to take this on myself. My passenger side manifold was replaced a year ago.....BTW This damn truck - all stock - no modifications of any kind - just turned 100k miles. One owner - me.

So I have removed everything I think I need to to gain reasonable access including the fenderwell and all the intake tubes and battery and coolant reservoir. I want to use some heat and try not to break the bolts but there is a thin wiring harness just above the exhaust manifold. I can't find it in any diagrams on the ford parts site. It looks like the glow plug and injector harnesses are up above near the intake manifold but this one is down below all that. It connects to small rubber thingymabobs - 1 for each cylinder. There is nothing else electrical near it - everything else is up top.

I am hoping someone on this forum can help me in identifying it and perhaps some tips on removing it. I am using a tiny little tip on a propane-oxygen torch but the this is much too close for comfort. I know a picture would be a big help and I will attempt to post one here if requested.

Thanks in advance!

Now my rant - look away if you are a die hard ford truck fan or 6.0L powerstroke fan.

So far I've had to replace both exhaust manifolds because they burned and rusted right through. New transmission cooler lines -yes - rusted through and cooler (because we couldn't get the lines off without destroying the cooler). Cat got clogged (that was fun to find and fix). All 4 front ball joints replaced. Transmission dip stick tube rusted through. Several brake lines had to be replaced due to rust. The air conditioner quit with about 80k miles. I haven't fixed that yet. My oil pan is rusting through and needs replacement. Friggin oil pan! I have never in my long life experienced that. I know of other diesel pickups that are older with far more miles that live in the northeast, used for plowing and never garaged that don't have their oil pans rusting through. Just had to change both power steering lines that go to the gearbox due to leak caused by rusting through. EGR needs to be cleaned or replaced almost as often as the oil need changing. This POS needs to be out of my life!

Too bad because if it was dependable and wasn't made out of the cheapest crappy metal Ford could find it would be a great truck. Rides and hauls great. Plows great. Good looking truck, too. Standard cab 8 foot bed. Dark green. Just can't keep doing this.

 

OK

I think I just figured out that the harness in question is the glow plug harness. I should probably remove it and the glow plugs in order to not damage them with heat. Never did that before. I'll see if I can find that procedure somewhere.

 

I fabricated a tool to remove the glow plug connectors but only got one off. The upper rim of the groove the tool fits into broke off on two others. I guess the tool didn't fit perfectly. I am looking for the tool today. Not sure if that will help on the two bunged up connectors.

I am concerned I might be wasting my time removing the glow plug harness. Any insight from a member who has done this would be appreciated.

 

Sounds like somebody needed to wash that truck more than twice in its life...

 

Yes it sounds like your attempting to remove the glow plug harness. Not necessary to get the manifold off. The harness is replaceable. Follow the end of it up to the top of the engine and you'll find the plug.
To remove the broken ones you can use 14ga wire and wrap it around the groove of the plug and twist the ends together. This will give you a handle to pull the boot out.

 

That truck was washed weekly including the undercarriage. There is a carwash next to the dealer I bought my truck from and they offer free washes to customers. Maybe they put acid in their wash water. I have lived in the northeast all my life and understand destructive power of salt but yeah, I must've missed the power steering hoses, tranny cooling lines and oil pan.

The entire engine block looks like it is ready to crumble into a pile of rust. Seriously... giant flakes everywhere. Never in my life have I seen anything turn so fast.... and this is my 12th ford truck. I hate rust. Rust is car cancer. As soon as this thing can move under it's own power I am selling it. I will be honest about the issues and it will cost me a lot of money but it won't get any better and the fix is far worse. I feel like I got screwed and I would feel bad about passing it to someone else.

Funny thing is the body looks great.

My Wife's 2003 Volvo still has all the block paint on the engine. Mine looks like it was never painted.

 

Thanks 87. I haven't yet damaged my harness enough to need to replace it. I like the wire trick. I understand I don't need to remove it to replace the manifold but I just think I need heat to have any chance of getting this manifold off without breaking bolts in the block. I could cut the heads off the bolts (I might need to anyway) because they are already down to 9MM when i bang the rust off and give myself a shot at removing them with stud extractors. 9MM is a 1/4 inch drive socket. That won't cut the mustard.

 

I'd be hesitant with the torch. You might be surprised and they might come right out. If you heat just the bolt it will more than likely twist right off. Wish you the best.
Also you can get these @ Home Depot or Loews. They work well.



For stripped bolts.

 

Got it off without much drama! This is from a 2004 that just turned 100k miles. You could poke a screwdriver right through it. Is this normal. The right hand manifold was replaced when it had 90k miles. It was just as bad.

 

Hey experts...

It looks like this manifold was installed without a gasket. Is that something I should have expected to see. It is factory original.. never been off.

 

Yes, they didn't use a gasket. The manifolds should be machined flat or you can use a gasket.

 

Thank you. That is a relief. My replacement came with new bolts, spacers and a gasket. I will use the gasket. The surface on the head is pitted. Had to pick up the EGR tube and the connector separately. My EGR tube was rusted through, too. I am hoping that with no manifold leaks and a new EGR tube it will run better. It was not throwing codes but it was acting like I had a dirty EGR valve. It'll be nice to have it back on the road. Been a while since I started this little project. I don't have a garage and the weather has been crappy here for a couple weeks.

I appreciate all the advice and assistance. This is a great forum with many very knowledgeable members. I also have a Mini Cooper. Sort of a different story on those forums. Everybody is more interested in accessories, rallies and fuel mileage.

 

In case anyone ends up going down this road. The bolt extractors work well but I was able to hammer on a size smaller (in this case 10mm is the size they used to be). I used a three eighths impact socket because it is 6 point and still a three eighths drive socket. All the manifold bolts came off relatively easily with just a ratchet handle. I used some heat but honestly not sure if it was needed. I also soaked them in WD-40 for a couple days. Again, not sure it was needed. I spent more time trying to remove the glow plug harness to protect it from my torch but even that was not needed. As usual, I worked harder at this than I needed to.

 

I am starting this task. and looking for information, I have the wheel well out. and the bolts look rusted, a 10mm wiggles a little on the bolt. What size did you hammer onto this to get them out? what else or how did you go at it, it is an award place, did youlift the engine or anything to help with access?