I did get one quote for $800.00 but have yet to speak to the guy myself so I'm considering taking on the task myself.

There are some great folks here with a lot of good info and I love the pics.

 

i have a broken exhaust manifold bolt as well, and the others don't look far behind. I am going to try to have it repaired under warranty ()

It "conforms to California regulations" and is registered in Massachusetts so the exhaust manifold should be covered under the California 7 years/70,000 miles emissions warranty...

Im gonna give it a shot, but i am not holding my breath.

 

Is it necessary to pull the manifold to easy out the studs? Is it hard to get a drill in there? (The last answer was kind of vague.)

 

No it isn't necessary to pull the heads to use an easy out. Yes it's a tight space to get a drill in there. You need to obviously use a right angle drill. Some have bigger heads than other. I know that many members who have done this have gone with a Makita RA drill.

Having to pull the heads is due to breaking off easy outs off in the studs and or just not being able to get the studs out.

 

Just a little FYI here: if you are unlucky enough to snap a drill bit or EZ out or tap off in your head while doing this job, DO NOT just yank the heads or take it to a shop to pay them to yank the heads. A freind of mine works at an automotive machine shop and they used to deal with this all the time for the local Ford dealer. They removed the studs/EZ-outs/drill bits/taps with the engine and heads in place by using a portable EDM. For those who don't know, and EDM uses electrical current and an electrode to "dissolve" ANYTHING in the hole without damaging the threads at all. Portable ones aren't terribly common, but they aren't that hard to find if you look. Call the local machine shops in your area and ask around, you never know what you'll turn up and the cost is MUCH lower than pulling cylinder heads. Hope this helps, Jim

 

i am almost finished with this dreaded job with my father in laws truck. we have about 10 hours into it now, and just need to install the pass side manifold, reinstall the A/C compressor (had to unbolt it to get more access room), and in stall the shocks/brackets. out of 20 studs, we had to extract 4, which came out fairly easily after we used a mikita right angle drill, and left hand drill bits (of course we spent a lot of time on other attempts which didnt work).

if given the opportunity to do another one, HELL NO !!! honestly though, the worst part was just getting to manifolds off. the nuts were so badly corroded that every single one was a different size, and gave us a run for the money.

 

No, I said pull the manifold.

 

Could you have done it with the manifold on ?

 

possibly yes. however, since there was an exhaust leak to begin with, i wouldnt expect the gasket to last long, if it even sealed with all the carbon debris blowing by it.

the manifold could act as a drill guide though. if you tried it with a left hand bit, it could possibly grab it out from the head. thats how i had to do it on 4 bolts.

 

My bad, too much beer that day. Others have posted on here with only having one or two studs sheared and having luck getting them out with the manifold on. I would imagine that if it's one of the bottom center ones on the drivers side there would be no way as that is the tightest clearance area.

 

Thought I would give an update. It's been over three years and all my exhaust manifold bolts are still there, and my truck is still quiet!

 

I mine are good after 165K miles, I wonder why some break and some don't.

 

I would guess salt/corrosion. Those that live where there is a real winter or near the coast probably have the worste problems, atleast that's my initial thought. It's 18 degrees out today and the roads around town are sloppy wet with water literally running down the streets and puddles forming. Last I checked water naturally freezes at 32 degree above zero. We must have special snow in this area, lol.

 

I would have to say it doesnt have anything to do with salt, My truck has never seen salt or winter for that matter and I have 2 broke off on the pass side. My guess is they snap from the expansion and contraction of the manifolds.

 

I am with you on that one. Just the fact that they seem real soft makes me think this is a design issue. Used the wrong bolts.

I bought my truck used and it came with a Banks powerpack. I hope they changed the studs when they installed that. so far so good.