Well as I posted up a few weeks ago, I got a small crack in my exhaust manifold on my 1988 F350 7.3 IDI and a rear bolt broken off. It is the passenger side.

Got one estimate of over $850, they said they would probably have to pull the head to get at it. New manifold is only $167.00

Can you pull this manifold without pulling the head? How bad is it going to be?

I can pull the head myself if need be, but the gaskets are gonna add about another $200 to put it back together and I'm not sure I have the time to get into that.

I can run it like it is, the exhaust leaks are not hurting anything and they are not in a place that will heat anything up, it just sounds bad on acceleration, nasty ticking and hissing sound.

Whats your advice?

PW

 

You don't want to pull the head in the truck, that is about a 16 hour job.
On my 86 4x4 there is a rubber skirt from the inner fender down to the frame. A couple of clips hold it in. With the rubber skirt removed I can get at the manifold bolts thru the wheel well. You may be able to do the same.
You may also have to pull the starter to get at the bolt after the manifold is off, but that is a lot easier to do than pull the head.

 

as Dave stated ... you might be able to get at the broken bolt with the rubber skirt removed, but you should be able to remove the manifold with some finness. Good luck.

 

anybody who whats to pull the head is a moron. If removing the starter does give them enough room you can put a piece of wood on the oil pan and jack the motor up maybe loose the motor mounts for more movement. If I can get long tube headers in there it should be a piece of cake. good luck!

 

Well I got a temp fix in place last night since I just don't have the time to tear into this for at least a couple months. I found some stuff called Pyro Putty, it is like JB Weld, but for temps to 1200 degrees, designed for manifold repairs. It has little metal beads in it. I think the way it works is the compound holds the stuff in place until it dries, then the first time it heats, it reacts with bead and they actually melt in place, it says it gets stronger the hotter it gets. We will see. I cleaned the one crack with carb cleaner and a small die ginder and cleaned around the flange on the rear port that has the broken off bolt as much as I could reach. Then I worked this stuff into the crack and around the flange and let it set up overnight. Warmed it up for about 30 minutes this morning to finish the curing and it seems to be holding for now. The stuff can be ground off the flange when I do get around to replacing it. I am not sure how long it will hold, but it made it to work today (ten miles on the highway), but I stayed off the pedal, we will see the first time I need to hammer down on it. I may need another application or two to seal up everything. It sure is quite compared to before and only took about an hour to do last night.

I know this is not a great way to fix this, if it holds I will just leave it that way. This is by no means a show truck, it is just for my business and towing, so if it works, what the hay.

 

Just a quick update, I really did not think my quick fix would hold very long, but it has been in place for 12 days and over 750 miles and no leaks. The truck is running quite and no signs of any soot or leaks at the manifold. The small crack on the manifold I am not surprized that one has held, but the area around the broken off back manifold bolt is also holding and not leaking.


I can jump on it hard and no leaks.

Pryo putty is the real deal for this situation. It is a mess to do, trying to reach up to the manifold and really work the stuff all the way around the offending area, but it really works. I reached up there last night and the stuff is rock hard and fully bonded to the manifold, no cracks or bubbles. I am still amazed it worked.

PW