I have a bad exhaust leak on the pass side it’s leaking at the header
How bad is it to change the gasket I have done it on my stangs but never on my truck it looks like a PITA to do? Any tips to help me. Should I use heat on the bolts ? I don’t want to break any bolts or the air injection lines

 

Are the nut heads rusted bad i here the pass side is hard, I just replaced the manifold on the drivers side i had to chisle all the heads off but 3 take the manifold of and heat the block around the boltd putting vise gripes on what was left of the bolts but they all came out 4 hours later had the new manifold on. Lots of fun

 

I'd be willing to bet that closer inspection would show that the rear bolt on the pass side manifold has snapped off. This happened on my 96, my friends 88, and 3 other guys I know with 460s. Mine snapped off below the surface of the head, and against my better judgement I tried an easy out. You guessed it, I snapped the easy out off in the bolt. I used a cobalt bit and drilled out the bolt (and easy out) to next size up, tapped the hole and put in a new grade 8 bolt. Also, mine and the others had no gasket to speak of.....just a machined metal to metal surface. I used a very thin layer of copper RTV when reassembling. No problems a year later now. Remove the tire and the plastic wheel well and go at it from there. With a decent breaker bar the other bolts came out without too much trouble. The air injection flange bolts were both very rusted and both snapped off. Those were easily removed with Kroil, torch, and vice grips. One other thing...the header bolts are all "bolts", don't be confused into thinking they are studs and nuts. A couple of the bolt heads have threaded protrusions for the spark plug boot heat shields...made it look like a stud and nut, instead of a bolt. Any other questions feel free to ask.

 

thanks oxford01gt I'll look at it again. the bolts just looked so rusted that i started to think of the worst right away. and i never took a really good look at it the first time i just got bumed out and closed the hood.

one thing i know i'm going to do is... use copper gaskets i dont ever want to do this again

 

I just did this on my 1988 with a 351w. Bolt was broken and I had to drill it out. You should have a torch handy to heat the bolt and let it cool a couple times, makes it easier to get the bolt to break loose. I pulled the wheel and the inner fender well.

Ron

 

im gonna have to do the same thing pretty soon, my passenger side manifold is leaking also. not looking forward to it.

 

It was not that bad

 

hey if u got a 88 with stock manifoldes on it its going to be a pain.

 

Spray all the bolts down real good with WD-40 a couple days before doing the job. This will help out a bit

 

thats what i'm doing i spraying the bolts with PB BLASTER all week long. some times twice a day hopeing it will help

 

No offense 95 F150, but WD-40 was never really designed as a penetrating oil. WD actually stands for water displacement (the 40 was their 40th attempt). You are far better off with PB Blaster or Kroil. If I remember right the bolts are at a downward angle, which makes it hard for the oil to creep though the passages to the threads. I soaked mine for a few days and it didn't appear that any of the Kroil got to the threaded portion. If you have access to air tools it's hard to beat an impact wrench set light to coax out rusted bolts without shearing off the heads. Might as well change your plugs while you're in there. Those 4 will be a breeze with the manifold off.

 

is an exhaust leak on a manifold just caused by a bad gasket?

 

Nope they can rust out and crack too not to often the gasket goes but it does hapern some times.

 

so whats that mean..i need a new manifold?

 

A leak can be caused by a failed gasket, a cracked manifold, loose manifold bolts, or in my case a sheared off manifold bolt. You'll need to pop your head under the wheel well and look and listen to see where it's coming from. My 460 did not come from the factory with a gasket....just two machined surfaces. If the manifold is cracked or rusted through. A decent one can usually be picked up at a slavage yard for a reasonable price.