I had an exhaust leak in a 5.4L. Thought I might need new headers, so I bought some new headers. Took it to a shop. They said the headers are fine, but two of my bolts broke. They said the repair cost is $600 or so for the 2 bolts + about 800 for the headers, or $1400. However, they said thats a "best case scenario" because other bolts will probably break, so their advice is literally to drive the truck off a cliff (IE- Junk it).

The thought of junking my car over 2 broken exhaust bolts blows my mind. It is high mileage (in the 200s), but I have no other problems with the car.

Anyone have advice for either: Affordably fixing the exhaust manifold setup? (Heck, I'm tempted to pack it with RV and wrap it in fiberglass??) or doing something with the truck instead of junking it? It runs fine I'm just worried about exhaust getting into the cabin and it sounds like heck.

I even thought about buying a new engine, but it looks like that will run about $5000 installed.

I know there are kits to solve this problems for GMS (like this: GM Exhaust Manifold Repair Kit ) that cost only $35!!!!

 

What car are you talking about?

 

'06 f150 5.4l

 

My advice: Find a new mechanic.

 

Soak them with penetro 90. (Anything better than wd40) if they break you weld a nut on them and eventually they come out. But yes find a better mechanic, that type of response irritates me more than guys who just don't want to do it so they tell you a stupid price.

 

We had some work trucks with the same issue, evidently it was common with the 06 -08 5.4 engines. On my 07 Expedition there were two broken bolts which left an exhaust leak when you started it but after it heated up it went away. Took it to a couple of places and the consensus was if you don't fix it now it will eventually keep breaking any remaining bolts and cause further damage. It is a labor intensive job since there isn't enough clearance to the broken bolts so they have to lift the motor a few inches to get access. It's been so long ago I can't remember what parts they had to replace just that the entire job was over $2K but it is still running today with no other broken bolt issues. Like the others have stated, I'd shop around then decide if your truck is worth the expense.

 

Bolts broke on my right exhaust manifold and caused an exhaust leak. It did it for a couple years (but only 2,000-3,000 miles). I took it to an independent shop and they replaced the manifold (they can warp) and replaced the bolts at a cost of just over $500, including parts. A good independent and honest shop is the way to go. If you don't know of one, ask around.