Has anyone with an 07 and up Expedition had issues with the manifold cracking ? The work truck I inherited is an 07 Expedition with the 5.4 and only 54K miles. Started as a minor exhaust leak on the passenger side but quickly went away as the motor heated up. Took it to the dealer yesterday and they said it has two broken studs that they can see and a crack in the manifold. They also said it is somewhat common with that year and engine. They have to pull the motor to drill out the studs so total cost is just under 2 grand. OUCH !

 

The motor shouldn't have to be pulled to do that, go find an independent shop that knows what they are doing.

 

removing the wheel and wheel well liner is a lot more cost effective and a lot less labor intensive

 

It depends on which cylinder the studs are broken and on which side of the engine. The front two cylinders on the passenger side are often ubstructed by the upper control arm mount I know this from putting headers on my 04.

 

Old thread but here goes.

My 97, 5.4 had same issue. Bought the studs from Ford and the manifolds from who knows where on the web. They were made in China, fit very well and were only about $50.00 each. Once you get the manifold off, the broken studs should still have enough meat left to get a stud extractor on. This worked for me without moving or lifting the engine. I just worked through the wheelwells.

I did begin spraying the studs every day with PB Blaster about 2 weeks before doing the job.

OOPS. I see yours is an 07, not 97.

 

you can undo the motor mounts and jack motor upward too. also once the manifold is off or you can see the broken stud, if you have a mig welder, you can weld a nut onto the stud and use a socket to remove. Put nut over stud centered and weld the inside of the nut to the stud, works every time.