KillerB74
Active Member
- Joined
- September 2, 2005
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '92 XLT
Hi all, I just finished fixing up my exhaust start up put-put noise. The problem with broken studs is well documented on this site already. I created this post to document what tools and techniques I used for the repair. I did not document each individual step in the entire process but tried to focus on the studs themselves. Hopefully this will be helpful planning your repair.
Lessons (in case you don't read to the end!)
Lesson #1 - If one stud is missing, it is likely its mate is busted too, be prepared for this work.
Lesson #2 - You can remove engine mount bolts and lift the engine for a little extra clearance (18mm bolt). On the driver side I disconnected the steering shaft for more room.
Lesson #3 - Welding a nut to the stud did not work for me due to clearance, welding machine (120v mig) or maybe skill!
Lesson #4 - If buying a drill I highly recommend the Makita listed below. Awesome for tight quarters.
Lesson #5 - Don't waste money on cheap extractors or easy outs. Get a quality brand name. I had grief until I got dads proto easy outs.
Lesson #6 - If your 1\4" ratchet is missing when you are finished, it might be behind your battery! It rode their for two days before I found it!
My truck had broken studs on both sides. On the passenger side the two closest to the rear were broken flush with the head. On the driver side the two closest to the front were broken off.
On both sides the bottom stud on the port was missing but looked like the top stud was in place. The top one was busted as well once removal was attempted. One pulled out by fingers alone, the other took little pressure to fall off.
All other studs removed easily with basic hand tools. I was able to get the manifold out through the wheel well without jacking the engine.
Both of my manifolds were warped, quite badly. It was easy to see just by using a carpenters square. I had them both planed at a machine shop for $80 each.
Now, to get the studs out. All work was done through the wheel well as this offered the best access. Generally the passenger side was easier access, mainly because of the studs that were busted. To offer better tool clearance I removed the engine mount bolts and jacked the engine up on the side I was working on.
I tried the weld method of removal by welding a nut to the stud. With clearances and angles involved I was not able to get good weld penetration into the stud. After a few attempts I abandoned this method.
I went for the drill and extractor method. I was able to access two of them with a tight clearance drill but it was still too tight on the drivers side (behind strut tower). On another forum I found mention of this Makita drill.
This is an awesome unit for this job on our trucks. It was very low clearance plus it has a deep head for accepting bits. I was able to buy one locally for $300, not cheap but cheaper than it taking it somewhere to get it done. If you attempt this job and plan on drilling, buy, beg, borrow or steal to get one of these! If you are in the Saskatoon area, I have one for rent!
Here is a pic showing the head dimension
Now that I had the drill I picked up some LH drill bits. I did a pilot hole with a 3/32" bit and a final drill size of 5/32". I did not do anything fancy to center the bits. Just eyeballed a center and punched it the best I could. One stud I was really close to center and the other I was off, but was good enough.
I had bought a set of spiral extractors but could not get them to bite. I tried several things to get them to bite and they would just round off the flutes. That was when my dad (40 years of heavy duty experience) stopped in to see how it was going. He went home to get his experienced extractors. I took one of these and tapped it in.
I had those suckers out in a matter of minutes with a proper tool!
Installation was straight forward with installing the new studs, gaskets and nuts all from Ford. You can also see on my heat shield that I put washers under the bolts. The original heat shield pads had corroded.
If there are any other questions just ask!
Thanks for reading
Lessons (in case you don't read to the end!)
Lesson #1 - If one stud is missing, it is likely its mate is busted too, be prepared for this work.
Lesson #2 - You can remove engine mount bolts and lift the engine for a little extra clearance (18mm bolt). On the driver side I disconnected the steering shaft for more room.
Lesson #3 - Welding a nut to the stud did not work for me due to clearance, welding machine (120v mig) or maybe skill!
Lesson #4 - If buying a drill I highly recommend the Makita listed below. Awesome for tight quarters.
Lesson #5 - Don't waste money on cheap extractors or easy outs. Get a quality brand name. I had grief until I got dads proto easy outs.
Lesson #6 - If your 1\4" ratchet is missing when you are finished, it might be behind your battery! It rode their for two days before I found it!
My truck had broken studs on both sides. On the passenger side the two closest to the rear were broken flush with the head. On the driver side the two closest to the front were broken off.
On both sides the bottom stud on the port was missing but looked like the top stud was in place. The top one was busted as well once removal was attempted. One pulled out by fingers alone, the other took little pressure to fall off.
All other studs removed easily with basic hand tools. I was able to get the manifold out through the wheel well without jacking the engine.
Both of my manifolds were warped, quite badly. It was easy to see just by using a carpenters square. I had them both planed at a machine shop for $80 each.
Now, to get the studs out. All work was done through the wheel well as this offered the best access. Generally the passenger side was easier access, mainly because of the studs that were busted. To offer better tool clearance I removed the engine mount bolts and jacked the engine up on the side I was working on.
I tried the weld method of removal by welding a nut to the stud. With clearances and angles involved I was not able to get good weld penetration into the stud. After a few attempts I abandoned this method.
I went for the drill and extractor method. I was able to access two of them with a tight clearance drill but it was still too tight on the drivers side (behind strut tower). On another forum I found mention of this Makita drill.
This is an awesome unit for this job on our trucks. It was very low clearance plus it has a deep head for accepting bits. I was able to buy one locally for $300, not cheap but cheaper than it taking it somewhere to get it done. If you attempt this job and plan on drilling, buy, beg, borrow or steal to get one of these! If you are in the Saskatoon area, I have one for rent!
Here is a pic showing the head dimension
Now that I had the drill I picked up some LH drill bits. I did a pilot hole with a 3/32" bit and a final drill size of 5/32". I did not do anything fancy to center the bits. Just eyeballed a center and punched it the best I could. One stud I was really close to center and the other I was off, but was good enough.
I had bought a set of spiral extractors but could not get them to bite. I tried several things to get them to bite and they would just round off the flutes. That was when my dad (40 years of heavy duty experience) stopped in to see how it was going. He went home to get his experienced extractors. I took one of these and tapped it in.
I had those suckers out in a matter of minutes with a proper tool!
Installation was straight forward with installing the new studs, gaskets and nuts all from Ford. You can also see on my heat shield that I put washers under the bolts. The original heat shield pads had corroded.
If there are any other questions just ask!
Thanks for reading
