Ram 4.7 Broken Manifold Bolts

[outoforder]

Just purchased a 2004 Ram 1500 off a kid in town as a secondary vehicle. Had it checked out by my mechanic and it has broken off/missing exhaust manifold bolts. The engine has the tell tale tick, but it goes away after the engine warms up. Will I do any harm in not having this problem fixed. I will probably drive the truck 2000 miles or less a year. Appreciate in advance the responses. The site has always been extremely helpful to me.

 

[Silverado12]

FWIW Ford has similar issues with the modular truck engines. See how much to get it fixed as I don't like the idea of exhaust leaks in the front of the car.

 

[ragtoplvr]

It puts additional stress on the adjacent bolts, can make problem grow.

The air leak can make the mixture richer.

Rod

 

[Hootbro]

In theory, the cats and O2 sensors can foul prematurely. The reality is that given the miles, you may already be on the cusp of that but really will not know until it happens. If it continues to seal up after warm up, I would drive it until it becomes an issue which may be never.

 

[dawgn86]

I have a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 Hemi engine that does the same thing....startup engine and it ticks for about 10-15 seconds and then goes away. The parts to fix it aren't too expensive, but if the stud is broken off flush with or below the head, I would leave that one to the pros.

 

[JTK]

Didn't know this was a thing for the 4.7's but do know it's fairly common on the 5.7L hemi like said above.

 

[1989outlaw]

I had a 03 Durango that did the same thing . Thought it was a lifter or something at first. It always stopped as soon as the exhaust got hot.

 

[dogememe]

Yup, had a Ram 4.7 with the same problem... Sounded awful all the time (not just when cold) but it ran fine and it passed the smog test so who cares!

 

[oilpsi2high]

Pretty sure every Hemi and 4.7 on earth does this.

I'd leave it. I took one look at the rusted block and bolts and decided not to mess with it. You'll likely make the problem worse by doing so.

 

[Lyman]

My 4.7 has been good. But I have heard that this is a pretty common problem.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
It puts additional stress on the adjacent bolts, can make problem grow.

The air leak can make the mixture richer.

Rod



+1 This.

How accessible are they? If broken at or below the surface, a good welder would weld to the broken bolt and turn it out. Use grade 8 or higher bolts on all exhaust. New gaskets of course.

 

[HangFire]

01 Dakota with 3.9L, have had many broken manifold bolts.

 

[vssjim]

Lisle just came out with a reasonable drill jig bushing kit for these engines if you decide to fix it yourself

 

[Colt45ws]

Luckily I didnt have to deal with this on the 2004 Ram 4.7 I did manifold gaskets on. had to have the manifolds machined though due to how warped they were, I think they milled off over 1/8" of material on a couple of them to make it flat. That 4.7 never had another issue with ticking after that.

 

[outoforder]

Thanks for all the replies. The truck only has 97,000 miles on it. I've decided to just let it ride and it if becomes worse I will deal with it then. Just got the full inspection report back and I've got a lot of other things (ball joints, tie rods, etc.) to keep me busy for a while.

 

[Schmoe]

My Ford 5.4 had exact same problem....about 400 to fix one side.

 

[Titan104]

My 04 Ram with same issue. Repaired both sides. Replaced all bolts and gaskets, by mechanic. The price was resonable.

 

[red7404]

an old mechanic told me to use anti-seize compound on the bolts / nuts. and torque the bolts to 79-80 % of total called out. then after 5-6 heat cycles take to full torque.

 

[dawgn86]

Originally Posted by Titan104
My 04 Ram with same issue. Repaired both sides. Replaced all bolts and gaskets, by mechanic. The price was resonable.


Do you mind sharing how much this cost?

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

You can get clamps to sort of fix this on some GM and Ford engines. The clamp fastens to the head, and another bolt tightens against the manifold to seal it and take some stress off the remaining bolts.

I don't know if they are available for Dodge.