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UPDATE: Bolt is out. My roommate drilled the bolt from the other side until the bolt rotated out. Now I’m curious if anyone knows a good source for replacement bolts
To start, the truck in an '89 F150 4.9L 6I
I broke a manifold bolt while using a torque wrench to tighten the front-most one. Afterward, I found out that this particular torque wrench has been a problem and should've been thrown out a while ago. None of the bolt protrudes through the upper manifold to grab with vice grips from the top, and I haven't removed the upper manifold since the break to see if there's any of the bolt that can be grabbed from below.
I'm curious how large of a problem this is, and, if there isn't anything to grab on to from the other side, what are some best practices for getting it out. I'm pretty sure we have a set of extractor bits, and after holding up the broken bolt piece to the manifold, it looks like it's roughly flush with the gasket-facing surface. I appreciate any suggestions and advice
Last edited by Adam8992; Jan 15, 2026 at 03:13 PM.
Facts! As for how to get it out, remove upper, try extractor. If it doesn’t work, drill out and helicoil. If you don’t want to do that, go to a junkyard and get another lower.
make sure to run masking tape over the runners to make sure no shavings get in the intake.
Last edited by 90project5.0; Jan 15, 2026 at 05:57 AM.
