Exhaust manifold change SUCKS
 

well changed out the passenger side exhaust manifold Saturday and it was NOT fun

Well we got her done, 7 hours for the first time ever doing it, and you guys were RIGHT! it was a major PITA. Luckily we were 8 for 8 on the studs, none broken, they all actually looked really good (no rust) The culprit was the very back port on the passenger side, gasket fail. However, it got new everything, studs, manifold, gaskets, etc....

Had the inner fender fender liner out and top 4 studs out within 45 minutes. Bottom studs were a different story, you couldnt even see the front bottom two for the most part. plus you had to work blind behind the strut tower. Top starter bolt was a pain as well! Also for anyone attempting this, you BETTER have access to a Fine Tooth Snap On Rachet that has moving head or you will be cussing the studs

Steps we took:

1) Jack truck up
2) remove tire and inner fender
3) Start removing studs. Back two can be removed with a ratchet, front tow, use a 13mm wrence (gear wrench would be great)
4) Once you remove top 4, time for the fun to begin.
5) unbolt flange from bottom of manifold
6) remover converters if possible (i had to cut the pipe right after last converter and slide the converter section down because the only path for the manifold to come out is the hole where flange is. Having it rewelded this morning.
7) Remove starter (top bolt sucks, having a second person viewing fron up top is a must so you can have them guide you where the darn bolt it
8) start loosining the bottom studs by whatever means possible and PRAY you dont break a bottom one, or you MAY BE pulling engine.
9) take the big engine mount nut off and jack engine up as far as it will let you
10) fish out manifold best you can

11) clean matin surface up good, and put all the studs in BUT the bottom front two or three (clearance issues)
12) once all studs are in, place new gaskets on the studs, the studs will hold them
13) fish in the new manifold and place on studs, then put a few nuts on a few of the studs to hold in place
14) place remaining two or three studs in remaining holes
15) once all studs are in, tighten nuts on studssnug, then starting from front to back tighten top and bottom at same time (one person up top and one underneath)
16) let engine down put engine mount nut back on
17) put starter back on
18) mount up converter section you moved and bolt up the flange
19) put inner fender liner in, bolt up wheel
20) Crank up and listen to a tick free exhaust!!

putting those bottom front two studs back in and tightening the nuts on them SUCKED

truck going under the knife

https://www.ranger-forums.com/attach...ine=1335200600

As you can see, I had a nice gasket failure. There were rust deposits on the mating surface of the exhaust manifold on the rear port. looks like they pushed up the gasket and allowed the gasket to bend under the extreme heat.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/attach...ine=1335200600

also, you see, the studs were in excellent condition, but we put new everything in. these were the top studs

https://www.ranger-forums.com/attach...ine=1335200600

damn you did get lucky dude

How much would it have cost you to have it done at a shop?

Funny that you ask lol. Dealerships wouldnt even quote me a price over the phone. But from what ive seen on the F150 forums, it ranges from $500-$1000 PER SIDE and extra charge per broken stud, So i managed to get mine done for $207 all together, im not complaining, id rather have the busted knuckles and headache than pay that much.

Dorman Exhaust Manifold: 104.99
comes with gasket and flange studs

Manifold mounting studs: 12.99

Put in the Code VISA at checkout @ www.advanceautoparts.com and got it all for a grand total of :

$87.00 parts
+
$100 labor
+
$20 for rewelding part of the exhaust pipe we had to cut
=
$207 Total!

Sounds like it was a lot of work but for $207 you cant go wrong.

Good deal... those sure are common to go. Price two of them to customers just today!

Good deal man.
Your lucky they were in such good shape. I've spent days doing manifolds before.

Nice. Saved 300+ bucks. Now go buy a programmer.

Manifold gaskets... don't run them on cast iron manifold to cast iron head setups... they'll just blow out over time. I filed the manifold (not cyl. head) mating surface flat, and bolted it back onto the truck. No leaks.

As for not using gaskets on a aluminum head and cast iron manifold setup, I have no idea if the above trick would work or not. Anyone know?

I have a programmer lol.

Hopefully the 04+ doorman manifolds are better than the 97-03 Mine cracked right in half not even a year later.

We will see, from what I have heard, alot of Dorman's stuff is better than OEM because they take and change the failure points that were on OEM. I just put a Dorman window regualator in and you can tell its better built than the Ford OEM one. If it fails, I guess Ill do it again, but it will be free parts :D

Dude at autozone tried telling me there won't exchange it as soon as i walked in the door. "We can't take that" Oh yes you will I got pissed real fast and change how the talked