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Has the repair held up? The dealer I bought the truck from is offering me a check for $1,750 to do whatever I want with it. In other words, he is trying buy me out of the warranty. At this point, the warranty no longer matters. His mechanic destroyed the heads on my truck and they are liable for it. I'm not going to let him off the hook. I have no idea what the passenger side looks like even though it does not appear to leak. He's got to be held accountable for the damage his mechanic has done. Either he buys it back or we take it to a Ford dealership and repair both heads, replace the manifolds and he pays for it all. He has ruined the value of the truck until it is made whole again.
I would agree with your assessment.
The heads on my truck have held up fine after putting another 15000 km on them. The shop doing the work sent the heads out to an automotive machine shop to be welded and have the stud holes machined. During this ordeal, I did consult with my local Ford dealer, and they wanted to replace both heads and exhaust manifolds with new ones, at a MUCH higher cost. That was simply not an option for me.
I would consult with a few shops in your area including a couple of Ford dealers, to determine the best solution. Get them to give you written estimates, and then take those estimates back to the dealer where you bought it. I think you will find the $1750 offered falls well short of the actual cost to get your truck repaired properly. If they refuse to cover the full cost, then you will have to decide the best course of action from there.
It's time to set back and think about this with a cool head and find as solution. The very first thing you have to do is make sure you don't have a coolant leak, most leaks are caused by drilling to deep into a coolant passage. If there are no leaks I would tap the holes with a taping block to a bigger stud (I'm not a fan of coil inserts). Manifolds can be fixed or replaced with aftermarket ones at a lower cost over factory.
You have it in a exhaust shop so I'm guessing they have been down this road before and can handle the stud part of things but you may have to have your manifold repaired or replaced on your own if they aren't willing to do so. The first thing I would do is put a straight edge on the manifold to see how bad it really is.
If your warranty is in writing, Id carefully review it to determine what remedies are available. Offering you money to cancel the warranty is a red flag for sure.
As others said, there are several repair options that might be doable over having to remove the heads. Get it apart then assess what can be done. You will need plenty of pics before during, and after each manifold is removed.
The proper way to repair broken studs is to remove the manifold bolts and manifold then deal with the broken studs. I had 4 broken on each side with a couple,flush with the head. An angle drill, easy out, penetrant, and 20 hours later and they were all out. I did this by removing fenderwells and front tires to get access.
It also might be worth looking at headers rather then replacing the manifolds. I bought new SS headers cheaper then the factory manifolds cost and they wont warp, crack, or break more studs in the future.
The shop was closed today but the truck was outside so I managed to snap a few photos with some of the studs threaded into the head. They did not want to tie up a service bay since they knew this job would involve several hours.
This photo is the rear 2 cylinders on the DS. It's hard to see from the angle but the lower stud is not straight.
I took this photo looking forward towards the front bumper but it's hard to see the orientation of the studs.
If you look at the lower left studs you can see how off angle they are:
It's no wonder they had to drill out the manifold to get it to line up with the studs seeing how off angle they are. I've drilled many holes before and I know how hard it is but this is some pretty crappy work. It's easy to see why Ford dealers automatically charge $1,000 for pulling the cab off the truck to do this. Sometimes, it's just easier.
I also stopped by a Ford dealer today that specializes in Ford trucks and asked for a quote to replace both heads and both manifolds. The woman behind the counter said she would not be able to get labor charges included in the estimate until the service manager returned on Monday. She said she would call me with an estimate later in the afternoon on Monday. I want to get a written estimate so I can send to the dealer on Monday so he can see how much it would cost to repair the damage his guy did. She also said they just had a 5.4L in that had the exact same issue with manifolds and incorrectly drilled studs and they ended up just replacing the motor at a total cost of $6,700.
The PS does not appear to be leaking but who knows what the head looks like on that side without removing the manifold. I can only presume that it, too, has similar damage. I really wish I had taken this to my muffler shop and let my guy remove the studs without having to drill but the dealer offered me $600 to get it fixed, initially, and I turned him down. Since the truck was under warranty, I wanted him to deal with the headache and was sure it would cost more than $600 to do the repair. I took a chance on them giving me the quick and dirty repair and that is what I got.
On top of this issue there are several other things that need work. The front end wanders all over the road and has a bad vibration. I had the tires balanced and found a damaged aluminum rim that had to be replaced to the tune of $900. I could not find a used one anywhere so I paid the dealer price. I suspect that the front end needs all new everything since it wanders so much and that is not going to be cheap to fix. Plus, the A/C either needs a shim removed from the compressor or the clutch needs to be replaced. It blows cold but often shuts off completely and blows hot air for no reason at all. After reading the HVAC FAQ's, it seems like the clutch is getting hot and slipping because of the incorrect air gap. The emergency brake does not hold the truck at all so it may need to have new brake shoes on the emergency brake and/or new pads on the rear rotors. It also has an issue with the fuel tank filler nozzle where the gas pump will shut off before the the tank gets full. There is a TSB on this and I've researched the issue here on FTE. Other than that, the truck runs great and is excellent shape so I should not have any problem selling it after I get everything repaired. I'm still going to have to take a loss, I imagine because I likely won't be able to recoup the repair costs (minus the manifold issue) when I sell it. I hope I can get enough to pay off what I owe on it.
I agree... They messed it up badly! At the very least the heads need to be properly repaired, or replaced. Don't see how that is possible with them in the truck.
It sounds like there are a bunch of other repairs that need to be done as well. Did this truck have any kind of safety check or inspection done on it before you bought it?
If it were me, I would go back to the dealer with the estimates I mentioned before, and request they pay for the required repairs in full, or allow you to return the truck for a full refund, plus pay you for the parts already replaced. If they refuse, then you will then have to decide where you go from there.
More photos of the manifold. It's clear to see where they had to enlarge the holes on the manifold to get it to fit over the studs:
Some of the studs are no longer perpendicular to the heads, which means the threads in the heads are messed up. The heads need to be replaced, or welded and machined back to original. Tightening up a nut on a crooked stud will not work for long...
What you need to show is the port side with a straight edge going across the surface.
Denny
Like I mentioned before, it really doesn't matter if the heads are warped. They can't be used because the holes for the studs are wallowed out. It mattered in the beginning because they did not replace them but that was before they butchered the heads.
Your heads are not ruined, all you need is a Time -Sert kit and a drilling block so they can be drilled out straight taped and a insert installed on the holes that need it.
Put a SS washer on the stud and reuse the manifold, they only torque to 20 ft-lbs so a little material missing in the hole is no big deal.
This is what a tapping or drilling block looks like, it forces you to drill or tap straight.
08-12-2017, 06:48 AM
