03 F150SCrew FX4 4.6 137,000mi

I took the F150 to an exhaust shop to have an expertfind and/or fix the annoying ticking noise my truck has been making for some time now. He spotted the leak coming from the broken bolt that attaches the exhaust manifold to the head (the one closest to the firewall on BOTH sides). He said the problem was out of his realm of expertice, and suggested I go to a mechanic shop for a solution.

I went to a mechanic and will drop the truck of for a quote thrus/fri of next week. The mechanic said the problem is most likely from the exhaust manifold being warped and said I may have to replace the manifolds and doesn't mind if I bring his a set (if that is the problem).

My question is where is a good place to get new manifolds online? also what is the proper course of action to prevent this from happening again? would it be worth while to just replace the manifolds with headers? what is a fair price for this type of service?

HELP anyway you can guys

--Chris

 

the problem is the studs, ford has since updated the studs to stainless which is why they no longer break on the late model trucks. rusted studs with the rocking of the engine under load with a lack of a flexpipe is why the studs break.

 

SO can I still use my old manifolds? and just have him replace the studs/bolts with stainless steel ones?

 

correct, OEM studs are recomended your local dealer will have the stainless studs. you are less likely to damaged the threads in the head with the stud/nut combo then with bolts. ive yet to see a factory manifold warped. but I have seen them cracked.

 

Ok what about a head warping? correct me if I am wrong but the head is aluminum while the manifold is cast iron, so would the aluminum warp before cast iron would?

 

I agree I've never seen a warped manifold either and ditto for the head caused by the manifold. I bought my exhaust manifolds at www.carpartswholesale.com Fast service, they fit perfect, and the price was around $45.00 each side. P/S some guys tack weld a nut to the old studs for easier removal as the original nuts are usually rusted so bad a socket won't hold. Good luck

 

thanks for the help I will update as they become available. please feel free to add on if you can think of any thing else that may help me.

 

Brfiesin84,

I agree with the "get a new mechanic" comments -- go to a custom exhaust shop, they do several per week. I just got my 2006 F150 XLT done cheap. Bought stainless steal headers on EBay for $200 and the stainless steel replacement bolts for $30. Called all the custom exhaust shops I could find and best shop did the install for $1000 labor (but that's a DC east coast price)..you can get it for cheaper... Good luck.

You could get a rebuilt 5.4 Triton 3v engine for $3K

 

BoBo:

What are you replying to? This thread hasn't been posted to in over 8 years and nobody by that name has posted in it.

 

I was trying to reply to this msg. Must have gotten them mixed up.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...-junk-car.html

 

What happens is some people respond to the "related thread" accidentally... It's happened to me before.

You just gotta watch where you are submitting to.