My stepson went ahead and bought a 2003 F250 Super duty, 6.0, even after telling him I wouldn't buy myself. He's 18 and thinks he knows it all. He bought on June 28 and on July 6 he said that the transmission is slipping and it was smoking. This was after a state trooper pulled him over and gave him a warning for excessive smoke.

I drove it, determined it wasn't the tranny. Lifted the hood to find that everything is covered in soot. The truck has a K&N filter on it and it was crushed and twisted and every time you hit the gas it would compress more. Took the filter off, seemed to run a little better.

Went to passenger wheel well and had him give it gas, and smoke poured out of the manifold. You can see a crack about 1/8" between the flange and pipe. This would explain the smoke in the engine compartment. On driver's side there was some smoke, but it wasn't as evident as it was on the passenger side.

So, after all that...………….anyone have tips on removal of the old manifolds? I know I'm dealing with 10 bolts per side. My biggest concern is the rust on the bolts and having them break off in the head. I've already ordered manifolds from Amazon as well as replacement bolts, Dorman. I know some don't like them, why? I know my way around a wrench, but no where near expert as many of you are.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

I replaced all my manifold bolts when I did head gaskets. I had the heads out of the truck so it was easy. I did have a couple broken bolts but they were broken at the head of the bolt and not seized in the head.
There are some spacers between the head of the bolt and the manifold. I do not know the purpose of them other than the bolts are too long. I am sure they is a reasonable reason why Ford did it that way but I have no clue.

Also you can get some manifold gaskets. Ford did not install them at the factory because they were both machined surfaces but things get less than perfect over time. I installed them on my truck.

 

The standoffs allow for a longer bolt so it has more flex during the length expansion of the manifolds. The best action you can do is put nickel antiseize under the standoffs and under the bolt heads. This would allow for a little side action rather than relying on the bolt bending. When there is no slide and only bend, the bolts typically will fracture at the top thread out of the head. It’s usually the first and last cylinders that have cracked bolts. Usually, not always.

 

Thans Jack. I learned something new today. A day without learning something is a day wasted.

 

Would you suggest antiseize on the threads as well? I'm hoping this will be the only time it's needed, so I didn't think it would be necessary.

 

Yes. The guy who put my motor in 8 years prior to my pulling it was generous with antiseize there and on the up pipe threads. They all unfastened like they done a day earlier. No rust bind.

 

Be sure to stick with nickel anti-seize. It has a higher heat rating.

With all the exhaust pressure leaking out the spaces that would tend to give low boost and kick out black smoke.
Do you have something to read live data with? If you have a smart phone or a tablet then you can use some thing
like Forscan with a OBD2 plug in ELM327 dongle or if you want to get a bit more info and the ability to run some
diagnostics you can download the laptop version.

Once you have the manifolds back in place and it's running you can check the VGT numbers and see how the turbo is doing.
The K&N filters are crap as they let a lot of dust through and that is hard on the turbo and engine.

 

Thanks TMT and Yahiko. I will look for the nickel antiseize and get some.

Yahiko, I have both. I'll look for those on Amazon and see what I can come up with. Thanks

 

Another thing you might want to check is the y-pipe and up-pipe for cracks and leaks. There are LOTS of places where that can happen and cause soot/smoke and/or poor performance, especially if someone has had them out at some point and didn't replace them properly. Everyone here has a method for replacing the manifold to turbo connections and there are probably a couple hundred thousand posts on how to do that--LOL. Does it still have the EGR cooler?

 

Was the first thing I checked. I looked for headers and exhaust manifolds, I found nothing. I will double check the y and up pipes for sure.

 

if the EGR COOLER is missing , bet on cracked expansion joints on the passenger side, mine is in place, with the EGR passage welded up nicely on both sides, SO IF THE COOLANT TUBES DO LEAK, IT IS CONTAINED and it supports the y-pipe on passenger side.

 

Nobody likes Dorman because it's Chinese crap, that, and DieseltechRon preached his hatred for Dorman at every opportunity. If you haven't looked-up DieseltechRon's youtube channel you should.

When I did my manifold gaskets, I went to a local fastener supplier and bought 10.9-grade flange head screws. I didn't worry about the spacers. So far so good after a year and a half. You can get just about any fastener you need from mcmaster.com, fyi.

There were a couple of screws that broke off flush with the head but they weren't anything a cobalt drill and an easy out couldn't handle. Do yourself a favor and spray PB Blaster on the screws the night before pulling them.

Before re-mounting the manifolds, put a straight edge across the machined surface. Mine were out of flat by about 1/16". I spent a significant amount of time hand lapping them with an 8" stone. It was worth it though; I haven't had a migraine headache since.

 

I'll let you guys know when all the heads pop off. I used Dorman exhaust manifold bolt kits last October on my new heads. They appeared quality to me and included the spacers. Of course the bolts and inside of bushings were coated with never sieze and torqued to spec. I'd use them again. My old ones I zipped of with the 3/8 drive impact gun. They all came out like new.


Agree on some Dorman stuff is total junk, for instance NEVER use their oring seal for the oil cooler cover. They tend to disintegrate from what I've seen.

 

Taiwanese crap. I stand corrected.

 

There FICM power board has very small traces.