I keep hearing various conflicting opinions. Im sure someone on here will know. What year trucks do you need to remove the body to change the studs and which years don't need it removed?

 

you don't need to remove the body for any of the model years.

 

^^^ is correct but it is much easier to remove the head with the cab lifted

 

^^^^^^ misinformation it is not any harder or easer to do it with the cab on. removing the head in cab is norrmaly done with a engine hoist. so in fact you really dont even have to even touch the head

 

<O< I'm a idiot. I meant its easier to do if you remove the CAB

I some how missed the end to my post.

...it is much easier to remove the head with the cab lifted...

 

To each their own, I guess. I have replaced A LOT of heads/gaskets on a lot of Ford trucks from 4.6L/5.4L engines including the Navigator 5.4L 32-valve engines, and I can tell you first hand, that cab/body removal makes the job go FAR easier. I used to tackle these jobs cab-on before the 6.0L was introduced, and upon "discovering" the cab/body removal procedure, I will NEVER even think of attempting one of these jobs cab/body on again! The reason for this should be self-evident. Decent access to torquing crucial fasteners being unobstructed would be the most obvious one. This is due to the fact that I was taught to properly torque fasteners in one sweeping motion (no pausing in movement until desired torque is reached). And when it comes head bolts and fuel injector fasteners, I'm sorry but I refuse to assemble them in any other manner, other than their exact specs. Some guys will call me a pu$$y for doing it this way, but my back is still intact, while some others (the same guys calling me a pu$$y) are out on permanent comp. claims with their lower discs ruptured.

A little off-topic here. I am the lone tech at my dealership that does all engine work, on all Fords be it gas or diesel. There was one other tech at my dealership that somehow ended up having to replace an engine on a 5.4L F-150. He would be the one of "those" techs that would call me down for lifting bodies/cabs (he no longer works there either, for other unmentionable reasons). Sure enough, it took him almost DOUBLE the time to complete the engine installation that it took me on previous similar trucks with similar engines (remember the '05 5.4L that would hydrolock cylinder(s) from injector(s) overfueling?). On top of that, the truck was never reassembled right (firewall insulation all hacked up, wiring harness misrouted, torn etc.). I won't mention the exact time it takes me to pull a cab or body (I refuse to be the "hero" that contributes to FoMoCo cutting our labour times to even more rediculous levels than they are already due to some "big mouths") one of these trucks, but I can tell you that when the job is completed, you would NEVER know it was ever lifted, after I complete the repair.

Now, it might be more feasible for you DIYers to do it cab-on, for various reasons. Number one, being that most of you probably don't have access to a lift, or at least a lift you can tie up for a few days, so there's no choice there. Number two, would be that most of you will end up doing this only ONCE, which means you won't suffer any long term ill effects on your back, since time is not an issue for most of you. But for us dealer techs that work on these trucks day in and day out, we can't afford to jeopardize our bodies to make our living this way.

Just my two cents.