08 4.6l exhaust manifold leak, snapped bolts

[pjw73nh]

Well, I bit the bullet and brought it to Lou's last week. $325 to remove the broken ones, and re-stud all 8 with a new manifold gasket.

Hopefully that 's the end of this saga..... FORD should be ashamed of themselves...

 

[Ornery]

Bit the bullet? Hell, that was a gift! Where is Lou's? I'm making an appointment!

 

[pjw73nh]

Ornery, Yes a gift compared to Ford ($1100). Lou's is a small family chain up here in New England. http://www.louscustomexhaust.com/ I've been to two of them and they are great. They did the passenger side for $425 or $450.

Not sure if you've seen my Ford rant but, the passenger side went with 65k on the clock. Ford was about to cover it under the 70k under the "Long term defects warranty" but because my car was registered in NH (Not a "green" state according to Ford), they wouldn't cover it.

See the full shot here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3005388&postcount=51

 

[Ornery]

I did see your thread and I called that chain. My son lives in Medford, and I figured we could have it repaired while visiting him. But, whoever I spoke with, said they didn't do manifolds. I'm not too sure I'd want to part with several hundred just to be rid of a noise that's only there for a minute or so at startup, but if it got worse it would be nice to have the option.

 

[pjw73nh]

Ornery, WOW I am surprised. Which location did you call? Maybe it depends on who works where.

I went to the one in Portsmouth NH. The first time I went there and inquired, I walked in and mentioned the issue. That it was a 4.6L 3 valve with broken studs. Before I even finished my sentence, the guy cut me off and said "yep, I've done hundreds of them". I asked him if he used a drill to get them out and he replied "No, If anyone takes a drill to your cylinder head, run the other way, the water jacket is too close for comfort". Ultimately he never told me how we got them out, but he did great work for a good price and knew exactly what had to be done. As long as these are not recurring issues, I am fully satisfied with them

If you're still interested, the Portsmouth location is about an hour directly north of Medford.

Best of luck.

 

[AeroRamer]

I asked him if he used a drill to get them out and he replied "No, If anyone takes a drill to your cylinder head, run the other way, the water jacket is too close for comfort". Ultimately he never told me how we got them out,

Could it be possible to 'JB Weld' a smaller diameter bolt to the broken end of the stud and remove that way?

 

[pjw73nh]

I suppose it's possible, but depending on how "stuck" the broken stud is, the smaller surface area with JB Weld on it will probably not be strong enough.

I have see in this forum where some guys have MIG welded a bolt on to the end of the broken stud and unscrewed it. I am not that skilled with a MIG welder, and I wonder how they get access to the broken stud if it is flush or recessed within the manifold.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Unlikely.

The studs usually break about 2-3 mm below the surface. It would be very tricky just to "weld" the small bolt to the remaining stud without "overflowing" and welding it to the head.

And even if you succeeded, not sure the JB weld has enough torsional strength to unscrew the broken stud.

 

[Explorer_PL]

This is how they snap

 

[montermahan]

Unlikely.

The studs usually break about 2-3 mm below the surface. It would be very tricky just to "weld" the small bolt to the remaining stud without "overflowing" and welding it to the head.

And even if you succeeded, not sure the JB weld has enough torsional strength to unscrew the broken stud.

The best way to remove a broken stud/bolt that is flush with the surface is to tig weld a washer that is a little bit larger that the broken stud, to the end of the stud, then weld a nut to the washer, then if lucky, it will twist out.. I have done several of them this way

 

[DaveSincere]

I'm currently going through this now as we speak.

I live in Atlanta, GA. I have a 2006 Ford Explorer Limited, 123K miles.

For over a year, I've been experiencing loud noise when I start the vehicle and after 30 seconds it idles down. But I've noticed a decrease in acceleration as well and the truck is still loud when I drive.

I took it into the dealership yesterday. The issue apparently is I need a new right side manifold and gasket replacements. The total cost I was quoted was around $1,700.00. I was taken back..

I was flabbergasted.. I Youtubed it and called around and apparently it's a lot of work to get to the manifold with an Explorer. They have to lift the engine, possibly remove the starter, etc, etc.

I finagled and negotiated as the job is stated to take close to 12 hours. $1,700 is the extreme high end they quoted me just in case, they said it will most likely be lesser.

It should be done within the next day or so.

In the meanwhile I was given a Ford C-Max hybrid as a loaner. It's not bad.. Real smooth ride and fancy gadgets.. Drove it for over 60 miles and used less than a gallon of gas.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Yep, that's what I did as well. Remove the starter, unbolt the motor from the mounts and frame, piece of wood under the oil pan and jack it up. Also, remove the wheels and the wheel well liners. Lots of dissembling but 1700 is high. Hopefully will be less.

 

[pjw73nh]

Just an update to my situation. I know it's been while since I last updated this.

Chronologically:

1. I had "Lou's Custom Exhaust" in Portsmouth, NH do the first manifold that went bad. I forget which one is was. I think maybe drivers side. They did a gasket and new (stainless) bolts/studs. Around $425 (IIRC).

2. A year or so later I had them to the passenger side. It was slightly less. Around $375 or so.

3. 5 months later, on a routine trip into town, the car overheats. A rear heater hose was leaning on and chafing directly against the manifold and eventually burst.

I went to Lou's and asked their thoughts if they remember removing the heat shields. The guy starte d yelling at me and cursing "like a sailor".

I (highly) suspect Lou's removed the heat shields and never replaced them. Which they deny. Even though (for a completely different reason. The notorious spark plug issue) I had before and after pics showing the heat shield in place and then gone, they still denied they ever removed them. They told me "you don't have to remove the heat shields to do the manifold or studs. Why would would we remove them if we didn't have to?, It's just more work."

I sure as hell know *I* didn't remove them, and Lou's and I are the only ones that ever worked on the vehicle. Anyway, they were very rude to me about it, using pretty rough language and sent me on my way. It's not really part of the update, but I felt worth mentioning.

4. Another 6 months passes and the drivers side starts ticking again. Same deal, cold Wx, 10-40 seconds and gone. It's been that way for a couple of years now.

My main point is: I'm done worrying about it. Life's too short. If I trade the car to a dealer, it's their issue. If I sell it privately I'll disclose fully the issue and let the prospective buyer do their own research on it and decide if they too will let it bother them or look elsewhere.


The car now has around 105k miles, I have no intentions of getting rid of it at this time. I like the vehicle.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Wow, nice customer service

I need to check mine because I never put the shields back. And yes, they come off with the manifold, not sure how you can remove it with the shield still on.

 

[Partsman109]

The place where I bought my Explorer changed my drivers side manifold before I took delivery, now of course the passenger side is ticking. I will be doing this one.

I was thinking of putting a flex joint in the Y pipe before the flange connection to the rear section to see if that will take up some of the vibration and maybe prolong the life of the studs.

 

[pjw73nh]

I am not so sure a flex pipe will help, but it may. My understanding is that the issue is a result of two dissimilar metals (cyl head and manifold) expanding and contracting at differing rates with heating and cooling over many cycles and it stresses the bolts enough that they fail.

 

[Partsman109]

Makes sense...I get the whole cast iron vs aluminum thing. I was talking to a friend of mine about it and I think I'm gonna try a different type of gasket...a thicker composite type instead of the steel shim. It should give the manifold a little more room to move and not put so much stress on the studs.