Hello-
Just got doing the oil pan replacement thing this weekend. The only thing holding me back from being able to drive the truck again is I broke off the top stud on my passenger side exhaust manifold. This is the worst one, the most difficult to access. I tried to make a clamp using some steel angle and two bolts, but I cant really get it tight.
When I start the truck up, immediately I hear a very loud rat-tat-tat-tat and smell exhaust smoke. I've never had an exhaust leak before, so I presume this is what it is, as the truck runs fine otherwise. The big question is how to fix it?
As a last resort I will get a new manifold, but I was hoping for something quicker. Anyone have any tricks or tips?

Thanks!

 

Dang-that stinks when that happens. On other vehicles-it was easier to just bite the bullet and take the manifold off-giving me more room to work. The last thing you want to do is snap it off flush with the head. MAybe somebody else has an easier method.


FWIW, google your way onto "Classic Motorhomes" ,IIRC the Dodge 440 was notorious for snapping manifold bolts-you might pick up a trick.

Oh, BTW, I used to replace all the "hard to get at" studs with new while I had everything apart-because of this problem.

 

When I did the oil pan on my 351w I used the torch to heat and cool the nuts a few times, spraying it with PB blaster as I was heat cycling them. I got 3 out of 4 off without breaking anything. The fourth took part of the stud with it. All four still had the heads that are built into the stud. I heat cycled all four several times again with PB blaster spraying on when they were hot and eventually all four came out clean. I went to Ford and got the right studs, they are special, I think it was about $35 for all four, stupid expensive. There are different threads on the part that goes into the manifold, weird looking ones.

If you have broken one off flush with the surface of the manifold a trick that has worked for me in the past is to take the MIG welder and build up the head on it a little bit. Just make sure you are zapping the stud and not the manifold! The heat from that helps heat cycle and break the rust bond and usually they just back right out with a pair of vice grips. If you don't make a good weld and it breaks off you can just try again, nothing is hurt. Eventually it will come out. Otherwise if you're lucky enough to still have the hex head part of the stud, just heat cycle it with a torch repeatedly until it frees up.

You really need a torch (oxy/acetylene) and/or a welder to get them. Otherwise take it to a shop, it shouldn't cost that much for one to use the right tools to extract it.

What a miserable job an oil pan is on a Windsor engine!