Hi All,

First post on this forum. I have a 97 F150 with a leaking exhaust. After looking at it, it turns out I have a broken bold where the exhaust manifold connects to the rest of the exhaust. Further inspection shows I have one broken stud on the top rear of the exhaust manifold.

The second bolt connecting the exhaust manifold and the rest of the exhaust is looking like it is going to let go at anytime. So obiviousily I need to replace these bolts. The problem is, the bolts are rusted solid in the exhaust manifold. My only option (I believe) is to remove the exhaust manifold so that I can drill out and tap the 2 holes in the flange. This of course means I need to remove the 7 bolts and 8 studs.

Here are some releated posts:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...light=manifold

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...light=manifold

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...light=manifold

Any tips not in the other posts would be appreicated.

Cheers,

Mike

 

my recomendation would be to cut the flage bolts off as trying to undo them is a nightmare with rust and they are cheap to replace. at far as the broken studs go spray them all several times pb blaster and let them sit. then try to remove them. if you are lucky they will all come out at far as the one with a proken head on it if there are threads available try to put a nut on it and weld it then remove it that way. If you do not have a welder available you could try some jb weld it may work also. Drilling and tapping is really hard to do while the head is on the motor and you do not want to remove the head if you can avoid it. while you are going through all this you may as well pick up some shorty headers and replace the stockers while you are at it. Summit has them for 149 for a pair of their brand which are actually pace setter headers. Just pick up some high heat paint and walla new headers. They also come with all new studs and bolts and also new gaskets. Hope this helps.

 

my advice is to have LOTS of patients, i went thru same thing on my 97. bolts were rusted down to nothing. if u have a welder life is much easier.soak thr bolts in pb blaster overnight.a left handed drill bit, easy out but help as well.take off the inner fender splash shield bolts are easier to get at. if you can weld nut on the broken stud try that.mustangraven is right drilling is a pain.try welder first.

 

Just make sure you have something else to drive in case this takes awhile. Just hope that the studs come out with the nuts, I wouldn't reuse any. I would also go for a new manifold for $60 from Rockauto.
I brazed the nut on broken stud as I don't spend much time with a welder.

 

Flange View (note bottom bolt is non-existent):


Manifold view (note rear top nut missing):


Another Manifold view (nice rust eh):


Raisin, I have a second car I am driving. Hope to have the truck back on the road in the new year. I also need to fix the 4x4.

This is my first big job on the truck. Should be fun

Mike

 

lol that brings back memorys . i thought mine was rusted lol.that is going to be a bitch theres no other way to say it lol.

 

Geez, that manifold is ugly. I changed my passenger side and will change my drivers side in the spring as preventive maintence.

 

After reading the threads linked in the first post, it seems that several have replaced the manifolds. What is the reason for this? Do they rust out that badly or do they warp?

I have been asked by my brother to do this job, I'm trying to decide if it is worth it.

 

The Ford TSB says when a stud breaks to replace all studs and nuts plus the manifold and gasket.
I'm only guessing warpage.
The manifold (Dorman) was $60 from Rockauto. My $717 qoute from Ford included manifold. I only wanted to do this once so I replaced all parts, painted the manifold with gray Hi temp paint and used lots of copper anti-seize.

 

I need to do this cause I have a broken bolt on the flange which is causing an exhaust leak and therefore can't pass an emission test. I also have 1 broken stud on each side but the leak is my main problem.

My biggest concern right now is not breaking the studs but actually breaking through the rust on the nut. The nut/stud/mainfold is fused togather by the rust. I have been soaking it with PB Blaster for 5 days, re-applying every 1-2 days. It doesn't seem to be changing. The nuts are also rounded off due to the rust.

This just might not be work my pain.

Mike

 

sears make the sockets called "bolt outs" they are made excactly for this job for taking off rounded rusted,rounded bolts. definitely worth the 20$.home depot has them also. "vice socket"? name like that. they look like a socket but they have a spiral grove.youll kmow what i mean when u see them.

 

I cleaned rust off with brush in moto-tool etc. I soaked nuts with bp blaster and areo-koil for a month but nuts still froze to studs.
I have the sears removel tools and they may work on rounded nuts but not so good on broken stud.
I was able to drive a socket on the nuts and got a grip.
I think nut will separate from manifold ok but I hope studs don't break. If broken studs are tight only the welded nuts likely to work.

 

Spent the weekend at it...

Bought the Extract-it bolt set from Canadian Tire (Sears sells the Bolt-out but the local Sears store didn't have the required set). The 1/2 socket used.

Summary:
6 bolts removed
2 studs out
1 stud broke at end but still lots of stud left (Remaining studs will be removed when manifold is off)

I haven't removed the manifold cause the last bolt (under side of manifold closest to the flange) won't free. I think I may need a 12 mm socket which didn't come in the set. I tried 1/2 inch (converst to 12.7 mm), 13 mm and 11 mm. None seem to grab the nut. This is the hardest to reach one. Soaked the bolt with PB blaster last night. I am in the process of looking for a 12 mm bolt out socket. Not sure if I can buy it seperate. May I round off the 1/2 inch socket. Is that possible?

Anyways...This is a tough job and am glad I don't have a time limit on how long it takes. I will post pics when the manifold is off.

Mike

 

that bolt is the hardest. you can get it from underneath with extensions and a swivel socket. take the starter out for more room.

 

I also had trouble with that nut. I couldn't get a good angle.
I finally put a tungsten carbide cutter in a moto-tool and cut the nut off. It does a good job, toke about 15 min.
Let us know how the removel of studs go.