Anyone with warranty success over broken manifold studs/exhaust leak?

[absentx]

So I have a 2010 V8 Limited I bought two years ago to replace an 07 V8 EB with several broken manifold studs and a pretty noticeable exhaust leak.

When I bought the 2010, I verified that all manifold studs were there and in tact. As I sit today, I can already count that half of them are gone/busted off and I have begun to notice the all too familiar tick at start up that eventually goes away.

So, when I bought this vehicle two years ago I made sure to buy a 48 month extended warranty. I went with the Ford Base Care plan and I am looking at it right now and it specifically says that it covers "Exhaust Manifold and bolts". I bought it solely with the intention to be ahead of another exhaust leak if it happened again, and sure enough I appear to be right there again.

Has anyone had this problem, plus an in tact Ford ESP Base Care and been able to get this covered? In my mind its a no brainer, the warranty says the parts are covered, but I am worried they are going to pull some crap like "oh it covers exhaust manifold BOLTS not STUDS"...but also hoping that if the parts are warped due to the failure of the fixtures that it might fall under coverage also.

Bottom line I have a good two years and 20,000 miles of coverage left and I want to get it taken care of now if the warranty will cover it.

 

[Tike]

how many total miles? emissions is 8 yrs /80,000 and will cover it.

 

[absentx]

Beyond that unfortunately. Bought in 2017 with 87,000 now just around 110,000. ESP covers until 135,000 miles.

 

[Tike]

i have the same issue. i want to just trade the truck in at this point... dealer price for passenger side alone is ALOT

just go to the dealer with the paperwork and argue for it. boy, whoever gets that work is going to hate you. LOL

 

[absentx]

I know man, so sick of this issue. This truck is so nice though. It was super clean when I bought it, and remains that way, plus being the 2010 it has lots of nice newer features like bluetooth...you know, modern smart phone era stuff that my 2007 just didn't have.

What I hate is that I have watched it slowly happen over twenty thousand miles right in front of my face...I checked for it before I bought it, bought a warranty I thought should cover it, and now here I am at the cusp of having to find out. I will be so mad if it's not covered.

They better honor it...but I know the dealership and the mechanics will definitely hate me, massive job to clear four broke studs and replace all that stuff.

I really want to keep this truck to 200,000 plus miles so hopefully I can get it fixed. The other part of me is saying even if I can't, who cares. I ultimately didn't need to trade my last truck in because of the problem, its just very annoying and something that you should fix, but in all honesty the truck could run fine indefinitely. Just not my style to leave it be I guess.

I have messed with so many bolt extractions and nasty stuff like that on personal watercraft I just have no interest in digging into this one on my own.

 

[Tike]

if they dont honor it call ford and ***** i have heard of them giving people large discounts because this is known issue.
200K is possible if your get a full timing job and at that point might as well have them do the manifold. i read either on here or sport trac forum that some shop in NH, USA was doing them for $450ish including new manifold and studs in that price.

 

[Campnham]

I just spent 1,800 dollars on both manifolds a month ago that are starting to leak again. Mechanic is being cool about it & wants to take another go with it. Last owner had them done & his mecanic botched the job up big time. He couldn't get a stud out on the right side, so he drilled another hole next to the broken stud & notched out the manifold instead. It almost cost me a cylinder head & having to pull the engine.
I hope ford honors the warranty issue for you.

 

[absentx]

Well I dropped it off at the dealership today. Told the service writer I am down to five out of eight studs and I have basically confirmed the leak on my own. I also showed her the written warranty and where it explicitly says that it covers exhaust manifold and bolts.

So - I should find out something by tomorrow or Friday, and hopefully it will be good news!

 

[Campnham]

Good luck, I hope you have a happy outcome.
Keep us updated..

 

[absentx]

Alright so I finally heard some stuff on the truck Tuesday. Definitely three broken bolts, which I knew, but now the dealership has confirmed leakage on each side...so problem verified.

Now, here is where it gets tricky. The room to work on/extract the studs as the engine sits there is little to non existent. I know there are youtube video's out there on how to do it and I am sure there are other ways you could attack it through the wheel well etc, but I would expect a ford dealership to do nothing less than pull the engine and that is exactly what they want to do, especially if its going to be covered under the warranty.

My claim was put on hold though until they got my authorization for the $2029 to do the full tear down. If claim approved after that, I would only pay deductible and tax. I told them to move forward... both the service writer and myself have car business experience and surmised that this is most likely more protocol than anything and given the evidence there is a pretty good chance it will be covered. If for some reason Ford gets stingy she said we'll have the service manager go to bat for me. Hopefully it doesn't come to that! Should know more early next week.

 

[Explorer_PL]

I agree that lifting the engine out gives you best access possible and minimize the risk of mis-drilling the heads. When I did mine, I unbolted each side at a time and tilted the engine which helped but not enough. One of the holes I had to retap from M8 to M10 and then to M12.
I used the stainless steel hardware which helped 100k later when I had to replace one manifold again since it warped again. The studs came out with no problems.
Good luck.

 

[absentx]

My truck has essentially sat at the dealership for three weeks. It was diagnosed early on, then the tech working on it was too busy to get back to it. A spot was supposed to free up for it on Monday, but the part that was supposed to come in for the truck in said spot did not materialize.

SOOO now I have a 2020 Explorer with 400 miles on it sitting in my driveway! I'll be curious to see how much more sitting around my truck does now that I am driving around the dealerships $40,000 vehicle...

Service writer said I could have a loaner or reschedule...gotta take that loaner, best method to insure my truck finally gets taken care of...take one of theirs!

And the 2020 is completely not for me. As soon as I was in it I just wanted my 2010 back. Low to the ground...no shifter knob...less visibility...less and strange rear storage.

Anyways - hopefully a real update on engine, manifolds and warranty coverage soon.

 

[Campnham]

Mine is back in the shop again. might have to go with an insert in that area the previous owner screwed up.
This is getting old in a hurry!!

 

[absentx]

Would you just be better off with a new cylinder head at this point?

I have no idea what one costs! Just curious.

 

[Campnham]

The engine would have to come out to replace the head. I was told the head bolts are quite long.
I hope this does the trick. I already Went out & bought a F 150 for a little more room when towing, so when this is fixed, it's going on the market!!

 

[absentx]

Well, the truck has been in the shop just shy of six weeks now. It finally made it up onto the rack about two weeks ago. The tear down and parts estimate was completed Wednesday October 30th and submitted to Ford ESP for warranty coverage.

Finally last week on Wednesday the service writer let me know that Ford had approved the claim and they are moving forward with entire exhaust manifold and hardware replacement!

Now - no truck in my driveway yet, so I won't believe it until I see it, but definitely going the right direction!

 

[Tike]

you sir are a lucky man! hold on to that loaner

 

[absentx]

Well, it took 41 days in the shop but I just returned home with the truck. I paid $100 plus tax. Service writer said warranty rate on the work was in the upper three thousand range...non warranty rate most likely would have made it a deal breaker. Nice seeing those shiny new studs in there. While this ultimately took longer than I wanted, the fact that it was covered is the most important part. The warranty clearly states "Manifolds (Intake, Exhaust and bolts) so while the process and coverage seemed to be highly vetted and scrutinized, I am glad I didn't have to raise hell with Ford to get them to cover it.

Comments from tech:

"Inspected and determined exhaust manifold studs on the RH and LH sides are broken. Removed transmission then the engine. Drilled out/extracted broken exhaust manifold studs. Installed new studs, gaskets, manifolds and attaching nuts, reinstalled engine then transmission. Installed necessary hardware and gaskets/seals in order to complete. Performed LOF and vacuum filled cooling system. Performed post road test and monitored 6R80 trans temperature. Hoisted and verified Fluid level in transmission. No more Exhaust noise, released vehicle."

 

[07EddyB]

That all sounds great - but I can't help but thinking 'that's what they are expecting me to say'

If it were mine, I'd be monitoring the coolant level and the transmission fluid level. The latter is a pain but running with low fluid can turn into a much bigger pain.
I know these guys are supposed to know what they are doing but pulling an engine opens a can of worms that someone working against the clock doesn't always think about or take care of.
What about the power steering fluid? Did they unbolt the pump from the engine or disconnect the lines?
What about the freon? Again, did they unbolt the compressor from the engine or did they disconnect the lines?
There are so many little things involved here - test everything and keep a sharp eye out.
Glad you got it fixed cheap though

 

[Explorer_PL]

I am amazed that simple manifold studs grew to almost $ 4,000 in repair work.
I am also still puzzled why the tranny and the engine had to come out.
When I was getting ready to pull mine out, I checked the Ford shop manuals, and when reading the steps, one of them was "Remove the transmission-see section .....", and I was thinking back then why ????
I pulled my motor twice within few weeks and the tranny always stayed in, no real need to drop it.
I get why the tech would pull the engine out to drill or extract the broken studs, but the transmission would be to get more money back from Ford ?
Happy you made them do it