Ok I bought this truck last weekend, got a great deal on it, but now heres the problem. The exhaust manifold is really rusted, and so are the bolts. Half of them snapped off, and the other half are ready to also.

I brough it to the local shop in town, and he doesnt know where to start on this thing, he says its going to be a huge project getting the old studs out and everything.

Do you need to pull the engine to do this? What about the manifolds, if I was going to just replace them with new aftermarket headers, would the engine need to be pulled to do this? What are my options here.

If the engine needs to be pulled, how hard is this to do? I would almost like to do it myself if possible. And say if we did pull the engine, it has 164k miles on it, would it be wise to do some maintnence while its out? Bored it out and new pistons & rings? Or what should I do?

Just wondering what other people would do in this situation.

 

I would go find a good used motor and put that in and be done

 

doa search for exhaust studs on teh forum..

plenty of threads both from people who did the work themselves and some people who had exhaust shops put repalcement headers in...

not a overly hard job if u have the right tools, but surely some time is needed esp if the studs are frozen in and wanna be a PITA to remove as some surely will be...

dont think i ever heard of anyone pullnig teh engine to install headers and repalce the broken exhaust studs.. but im sure it would make doing that job easier, but then the time to RE and RE the engine would be pretty massive..

i'd just do teh job in teh truck and set aside enuf time to do it urself or money to have it done...

there is also a current headers thread going on in the V10 forum u might wanan have a gander at...basicly shows which are the most popular ones and why...

 

The manifolds can be removed and new shorty headers installed through the wheel wells without removal of the engine. As for the studs, if there is enough length left over after they all snap (they all will) then use a stud puller to remove them.

 

If I can install shortys through the wheel wells, would it be easiest to take off the existing manifolds from there also? Also is there types of header bolts you can use to prevent this from happening? Like stainless steel bolts or something?

 

If you think there's a chance the remaining studs will snap, get out the torch and cut the heads/nuts off and then pull the manifold off - leaving you something to get a hold of. Pulling broken studs/bolts out of the head usually isn't too bad unless they broken off flush with the head. Then they can be a PIA...

 

Ford Racing makes some shorty headers for about 450$ shipped, are these any good? I dont need the best, just want something that will last, these are 409 Stainless Steel.

 

Agreed, check out the v-10 forum,lots of posts about stud removal as well.

 

Yes, even Ford has them.

You are not alone with your problem. Studs snapping/mainfold warping has happened to alot of people with these engines, including me.

 

This is what I did to remove the manifolds.

Jack up front end, support with 2 jack stands. Remove wheel, inner fender liner, shock and shock tower -my truck has front leaf springs. If you are doing the passenger side then disconnect the battery.

Use a cut-off wheel and grind off remaining stud nuts. Cut the 2 Y-pipe studs. I used a swivel head cut off tool from Mac Tools. Yes it was expensive but it saved time and knuckles.

Remove the old manifold and gasket.

Some studs will be long enough for a small pair of vise grips to grip and turn.They will turn easily. Out of 16 studs on my truck , 13 came out this way.
For studs that are broken off flush with the cylinder head, use a small die grinder or Dremel tool to carefully remove a small ring around the stud - only 1/16-1/8" wide and equal amount deep to remove remaining corrosion.

Then use a mig welder and slowly, patiently deposit a small bead on top of the stud. Repeat the small spot deposit to build up a post to allow the small vise grips to grab on to it. These studs will turn easily also.

Clean the surface of the cylinder head with a surface prep tool.
Coat the new studs with anti seize compound and put 1 stud into the head. Install the gasket , the new manifold ,then 1 more stud and nuts to the 2 studs. Then install the rest of the studs and nuts. Torque in a cross pattern starting with the center studs.

New manifold studs and nuts from Ford are probably better than the auto parts store versions. Parts for each side from my local NAPA store were $125.00

 

No harm done to the heads from the heat of welding?

 

The heat generated from the mig torch was concentrated on the stud. Patience and care will allow some cooling between deposits. The threads for the studs are better than the threads for the spark plugs !

 

Would an easy-out work on the studs? I might try to tackle this after work.

 

I hope you're kidding.

 

I second this. When would a complete EFI engine swap ever be simpler than removing a few broken studs?