2008 f-150 broken exhaust bolt

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How much to fix in your area? in ok they say $1200. several shops quote about the same price. do they really need to pull a fender?
thanks any info is appreciated.
 
If you're talking about the studs that fasten the manifold to the head...the job can be anywhere from relatively simple to a nightmare. My buddy has a F250 V10 where 18 of the 20 bolts snapped off below the surface. He uses it to push snow in the winter, so he dealt with a lot of rust. Broken extractors, drill bits, and a lot of man hours later, he got it done. Not fun at all.

Conversely, I had an E350 with the 5.4 where only one stud snapped. A left hand drill bit and an extractor pulled it out in a matter of minutes.
 
I have done a few of these over the years, the fender can stay but it really helps to make a jig to drill the broken bolt dead nuts straight if its needs to be drilled out.
When I do these I usually remove the starter and motor mount center bolt for the pass side then blow the rusted nuts off the remaining studs so I can remove the manifold.

Once its out heat the head with a oxyacetylene torch with a small tip right around the remaining studs then hit them with Kroil and let them sit. repeat a couple of times and the last time they will usually spin out with small vise grips.
If one is broken off flush, set the jig up and use a small LH drill bit and drill in about 15 mm then work up the size, it will usually spin out with a LH bit. You don't want to attempt free handing this one.
 
I paid about 500 to have two removed from mine, but it's a 01. PITA. Pretty common on Fords from what all I've been reading on different forums.
 
No salt problems down here....metal alloy problems? I've noticed that underneath the truck, thinks are pretty rusty everywhere....driveshaft, cross members, etc. etc....but still holding up so far. Truck has about 88K miles on it.
 
Ford hardware is junk compared to BMW nuts and bolts. I keep souvenirs of my battles with broken bolts in the dash well. I have plenty of BMW stuff hanging around. Its a decade older, but in way better shape. When the Ford hardware shears, strips or goes missing, I use BMW stuff. I haven't had any trouble with the Rat's Y pipe but the PO did, it was hung on 2.5" grade 8 3/8s bolts. Its a PITA job, some are worse than others. Before I'd pay 1200 bucks, I'd be doing this myself.
 
From what I understand, the manifolds warp, putting pressure on the studs. The studs are made from a softer metal and succumb to the pressure.

The stud that broke on mine seems to support this theory. As you can see, the nut is crooked, which indicates to me that the manifold was putting a lot of force on that stud, causing it to bend and eventually snap.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
Ford hardware is junk compared to BMW nuts and bolts. I keep souvenirs of my battles with broken bolts in the dash well. I have plenty of BMW stuff hanging around. Its a decade older, but in way better shape. When the Ford hardware shears, strips or goes missing, I use BMW stuff. I haven't had any trouble with the Rat's Y pipe but the PO did, it was hung on 2.5" grade 8 3/8s bolts. Its a PITA job, some are worse than others. Before I'd pay 1200 bucks, I'd be doing this myself.


The old BMW bolts are good. A lot of the new stuff uses one time use aluminum hardware. Such a PITA.
 
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