Exhaust manifold bolt broke on its own?
08-30-2014, 07:47 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Exhaust manifold bolt broke on its own?
My passenger side manifold has been leaking for awhile now. I decided to take a look at the manifold and noticed that a stud is missing. Is it possible that a bolt broke off on its own? I'm thinking not but just curious if anyone else has experienced this.
08-30-2014, 08:11 PM
#2
Very possible for the bolts to break on their own.
I decided to tackle this on ours. Back cylinder both bolts broken. Unable to get these out of the heads. I tried drilling, broke bit off and easy out off. Tried welding a nut and that didn't work. Not sure what I need to do.
I decided to tackle this on ours. Back cylinder both bolts broken. Unable to get these out of the heads. I tried drilling, broke bit off and easy out off. Tried welding a nut and that didn't work. Not sure what I need to do.
08-31-2014, 01:24 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Very possible for the bolts to break on their own. I decided to tackle this on ours. Back cylinder both bolts broken. Unable to get these out of the heads. I tried drilling, broke bit off and easy out off. Tried welding a nut and that didn't work. Not sure what I need to do.
08-31-2014, 11:18 PM
#4
Senior Member
When removing the broken studs here is the tools needed to do it with a minimum of fuss.
1: a reversible right angle drill air powered will work best due to the low clearances in the engine bay.
2: a spring loaded center punch to punch the broken stud
3: a 5/32" drill bit to start the hole any bigger may cause it to jump off center use a good one not a crap one as a crap one will probably break off on you.
4: a left handed drill bit smaller than 1/4"
5: patience
6: a good penetrating oil like seafoam deep creep or other preferred oil. Spray the nuts for at least 2 days prior to removal.
7: a swivel head ratchet 1/4" and 3/8"
8: 18mm socket, 10 mm socket, 13 mm ratchet wrench (optional).
9: patience
Process of removal:
1) Jack up the front end and put it on jack stands, or wood blocks, do not go under that truck without it properly supported use common sense.
2) Next remove the tires and the inner fender well plastic. Bag and tag the bolts and screws.
3) Next you are going to want to unbolt the headers from the downpipes, this is a great time to check cats once your headers are out.
4) Next remove the bolt that holds the dipstick tube for the transmission on the passenger side and let it hang. You will see why when you jack up the engine. You are going to want to remove the top bolts for the rad support, also the intake tubing and intake box.
5) I also recommend a good bottle jack and a short chunk or 2x4 or steel plate. Use that to jack up the engine once you unbolt the motor mounts, it gives you more clearance and easier access to the bolts. Yes it sucks but 2 bolts to remove the mounts makes this job much easier to access everything. Jack on the edge of the oil pan with the wood between the jack and the top of it, ideally a steel plate on top makes it much better. I used a steel plate with the wood on top which worked well.
6) FYI the headers will lift up clear of the down pipe. It is advantageous to remove the starter for the passenger side as that header does not come up over the strut tower easily. I dropped the starter personally but to each their own. The drivers side is easier to access. Get a decent trouble light, I used 2 of my cordless led ones that worked great.
7) Once the headers are removed now you can get a good look at broken bolts, I broke the 2 furthest forward on the passenger side and man it sucks but I got them out. Now you are going to want to center punch the broken studs, do it a few times and make sure you are as close to center as possible, now get your right angle drill and put in the 5/32 drill bit and drill a nice small hole, make sure that you get on angle here as it makes life easier for removal. Once you are at least a 1/4" deep switch to the left handed drill bit and reverse the drill. Now press hard and hit the trigger let it grab good and once it bites it will unscrew the broken stud if its not seized, if its seized then get a small punch and hammer and tap it as hard as you can then hit it with penetrant. Welding is a tricky business as the surrounding aluminum can melt causing it to get stuck worse than before. All total it took me 6 hours to do the passenger side with 2 broken studs and drivers was 3 hours with one broken stud. The longest part was getting the tools together to get a game plan on how to remove the studs. FYI check your headers for warpage once removed with a straight edge and a feeler gauge before reinstall if they are warped they are done also use new studs and nuts, I used edelbrock shorty headers so studs were not an option I used some stainless bolts and reinstalled mine.
8) Now that you have the headers reinstalled with new gaskets and new studs torque all bolts down and start lowering the engine, take your time as they may not line up without a small amount of persuasion, a small pry bar and a long flat head screw driver worked well for me. Retorque the mount bolts and then reinstall the upper rad support bolts, the trans dipstick tube bolt and intake tubing, start the girl up and enjoy the lack of exhaust tick. Drink a beer and let it get warm, then once cooled recheck the bolts, if all is good then get the inner fender plastics installed and tires.
1: a reversible right angle drill air powered will work best due to the low clearances in the engine bay.
2: a spring loaded center punch to punch the broken stud
3: a 5/32" drill bit to start the hole any bigger may cause it to jump off center use a good one not a crap one as a crap one will probably break off on you.
4: a left handed drill bit smaller than 1/4"
5: patience
6: a good penetrating oil like seafoam deep creep or other preferred oil. Spray the nuts for at least 2 days prior to removal.
7: a swivel head ratchet 1/4" and 3/8"
8: 18mm socket, 10 mm socket, 13 mm ratchet wrench (optional).
9: patience
Process of removal:
1) Jack up the front end and put it on jack stands, or wood blocks, do not go under that truck without it properly supported use common sense.
2) Next remove the tires and the inner fender well plastic. Bag and tag the bolts and screws.
3) Next you are going to want to unbolt the headers from the downpipes, this is a great time to check cats once your headers are out.
4) Next remove the bolt that holds the dipstick tube for the transmission on the passenger side and let it hang. You will see why when you jack up the engine. You are going to want to remove the top bolts for the rad support, also the intake tubing and intake box.
5) I also recommend a good bottle jack and a short chunk or 2x4 or steel plate. Use that to jack up the engine once you unbolt the motor mounts, it gives you more clearance and easier access to the bolts. Yes it sucks but 2 bolts to remove the mounts makes this job much easier to access everything. Jack on the edge of the oil pan with the wood between the jack and the top of it, ideally a steel plate on top makes it much better. I used a steel plate with the wood on top which worked well.
6) FYI the headers will lift up clear of the down pipe. It is advantageous to remove the starter for the passenger side as that header does not come up over the strut tower easily. I dropped the starter personally but to each their own. The drivers side is easier to access. Get a decent trouble light, I used 2 of my cordless led ones that worked great.
7) Once the headers are removed now you can get a good look at broken bolts, I broke the 2 furthest forward on the passenger side and man it sucks but I got them out. Now you are going to want to center punch the broken studs, do it a few times and make sure you are as close to center as possible, now get your right angle drill and put in the 5/32 drill bit and drill a nice small hole, make sure that you get on angle here as it makes life easier for removal. Once you are at least a 1/4" deep switch to the left handed drill bit and reverse the drill. Now press hard and hit the trigger let it grab good and once it bites it will unscrew the broken stud if its not seized, if its seized then get a small punch and hammer and tap it as hard as you can then hit it with penetrant. Welding is a tricky business as the surrounding aluminum can melt causing it to get stuck worse than before. All total it took me 6 hours to do the passenger side with 2 broken studs and drivers was 3 hours with one broken stud. The longest part was getting the tools together to get a game plan on how to remove the studs. FYI check your headers for warpage once removed with a straight edge and a feeler gauge before reinstall if they are warped they are done also use new studs and nuts, I used edelbrock shorty headers so studs were not an option I used some stainless bolts and reinstalled mine.
8) Now that you have the headers reinstalled with new gaskets and new studs torque all bolts down and start lowering the engine, take your time as they may not line up without a small amount of persuasion, a small pry bar and a long flat head screw driver worked well for me. Retorque the mount bolts and then reinstall the upper rad support bolts, the trans dipstick tube bolt and intake tubing, start the girl up and enjoy the lack of exhaust tick. Drink a beer and let it get warm, then once cooled recheck the bolts, if all is good then get the inner fender plastics installed and tires.
09-01-2014, 12:37 AM
#5
Senior Member
Newfiedan is spot on. I tried for days to get those studs out, and eventually had a machine shop do it. They couldn't get them out and had to drill them out completely. I'm not trying to scare you, but this was the worst I've seen. I've removed plenty of broken studs/bolts, but these suckers weren't going anywhere. Mine were the front two also. Most people have better luck though.
And yes, they can break on their own. If one is already broken, there's a good chance the manifold is already warped.
And yes, they can break on their own. If one is already broken, there's a good chance the manifold is already warped.