Exhaust Manifold Leak - Rt side

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Phil Lombardo

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Another case of exhaust manifold leak - loud ticking after a cold start then goes away as engine warms. Dealer estimates $4000 to remove engine and factor broken studs. 08 ST Limited 94k 4.6, My big disappointment in Ford . with this design. Have not decided to part with it yet . Any comment welcomed.
 
$4000 to Remove engine and fix broken studs? Is he rebuilding the engine while he has it out? (Granted, if it's a 4.0L you should probably do the timing chains while it's out, but $4K to fix an exhaust leak??)



wow... I don't know about the 4.6.. but wow...



 
Yeah, I really like my Sport Trac but after issues with the tranny "bump", leaky third brake light and overheating issue under warranty (where, because the dealer couldn't get it to do it and couldn't fix it under warranty SO I told them to put in a new thermostat at my cost, which fixed the issue) AND the cost of replacing the 2 piece "breakable" spark plugs.

Stuff like this should have been worked out before they put the vehicle on the market especially the spark plug crap!! I use mine as a second vehicle and it has low miles for it's age so it's still good to go. I rotate it in to use quite often so it doesn't just sit!
 
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Bash Ford..... ALL manufacturers have issues..... Just wait...... it happens...



Now Back on topic,



They do NOT need to remove the engine.... Find a local mechanic that has done them in the past.....



Todd Z
 
I have a 2008 Adrenalin, had the driver side manifold studs replaced, then about a week later the passenger side needed to be done as well. ( Same as you described, loud ticking when cold, went away once warm. Common issue on the 4.6L). Cost me $600.00 Cdn ( $466USD) each side. If I remember correctly is was about $60 for parts and the rest was labour. They absolutely do not need to remove the engine to do it, but it is rather labour intensive as its tricky to get the broken studs out in such a tight space. But it is doable. Like Todd said, find a different shop to do the work.
 
Both sides were done on my '07 by the dealer under warranty. Not only did they replace the broken studs but they also replaced both manifolds. I assume there was a redesign that corrected the warped manifold problem which is what causes the studs to fail. The studs are also extremely small in diameter for their intended purpose but not much can be done about that. In any case, there is no reason to remove the engine even if they replace the manifolds.
 
Well Todd, I only bought new GM vehicles prior to the Sport Trac and had very few issues with them.

1987 Buick Century Limited. Sold it at 149,000 miles. Other than normal maintenance, the only out of normal issue was needing to replace the Mass Air Flow sensor at 70,000 miles.

1998 PONTIAC Gran Prix GT: With 130.000 miles I gave it to my daughter in a time of need. Other than normal maintenance, the only out of normal issue was needing to replace the intake manifold at approx. 90,000 miles. That was a known issue on the 3800 engine and most likely caused by GM's crappy Dex-Cool! IMO, the intake manifold should have been a recall since it is a known GM issue! The best car I ever owned and would have lasted much longer had I not given away.

2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS: Other than normal maintenance, the only out of normal issue was needing to replace the Air Conditioner condenser at approx. 90,000. Traded it in on my wife Toyota Rav 4 with approx. 130,000 miles. BTW, I had the Dex-Cool drained and replaced with conventional coolant. The RAV 4 is OK but not thrilled with it as I was with the GM vehicles but no real issues so far other than 4 cyl dogginess and poor gas mileage.

2003 Impala with small V-6. I inherited this from my Mother with only 19,000 miles on it at 10 years old. No real issues except the brakes/rotors which I had replaced at approx. 28,000 miles due to the car sitting a lot and I had the Dex-Cool drained and replaced with conventional coolant when I rec'd the car. No issues with it and I drive it daily instead of the Sport Trac.

ISSUES IMO: Like the manifold/DEX-Cool issues on the PONTIAC, I feel that the 2 piece spark plugs and the manifold stud/manifold issues are poor engineering / design issues and the fixes should have been made by FORD whether in or out of warranty. I have paid to have the plugs changed by FORD. The cooling issue is something I have heard from other members and my problem is due to FORDS/and dealer inaction d/t not being able to replicate the issue! I had it fixed myself by paying FORD/the Dealer to do what I believed the problem to be(only because of the responses by the great members on this site!!) and that permanently cured the problem. The other known issue I believe should have been a FORD fix is the cracking plastic radiator......hasn't leaked yet!

The tranny bump issue was fixed under warranty but should have been addressed earlier since the Explorer was released in 2006 with the same engine/tranny combo. Same with the rear 3rd brake light issue but it was an easy fix with an tube of silicon once I realized it was leaking.

I have owned many older FORDS - 3 Mustang fastbacks(one a 1969 BOSS 302) and a Pinto Cruzin' Wagon with no really major issues with any so I'm not a FORD hater(check out my library photos). I like my Sport Trac but think that the paragraph items listed as ISSUES IMO: are very costly items to the buyer (if not caught during the warranty period).

This site has been a very important site to ST owners. It gives you good advice for problems and issues that you encounter and ideas for improving your Sport Trac. It also warns us about known/new issues that a new owner might not notice! This is one great site you have here Todd.....I don't mean to piss you off but the issues listed above are not happy points for those of us who are getting too old to do the work ourselves and/or don't have the money laying around to pay to have a fairly new vehicle fixed by the dealer. JMHO!
 
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Not getting into a pissing war....



Not wasting my time typing the list of Chevrolets and other cars I have had in the past, will never own again and the NUMEROUS problems with EVERY car I owned........



Point being go to ANY car forum.....what will you see ....NOTHING but problems....



Very rarely will you see the post "my car started today fine"



That's my point...



Todd Z

 
most likely caused by GM's crappy Dex-Cool!



You aren't gonna like the new Fords-- they are running DexCool now too.

Nothing wrong with DexCool, as long as it is in a closed system. After years of running it, engines and radiators are clean as a whistle.
 
Here's an excellent DIY video on how to get those broken exhaust manifold studs out. Pretty tedious job, but certainly shows you don't have to yank the engine out.
 
Another case of exhaust manifold leak - loud ticking after a cold start then goes away as engine warms. Dealer estimates $4000 to remove engine and factor broken studs. 08 ST Limited 94k 4.6, My big disappointment in Ford . with this design. Have not decided to part with it yet . Any comment welcomed.
Same as my 2010 4.6. A common trouble with the 4.6. I was able to replace the right manifold and studs without removing the engine. It was hard having to drill out several studs but it is possible. It took almost 7 hours. I unbolted the left motor mount which helped.
 
Same as my 2010 4.6. A common trouble with the 4.6. I was able to replace the right manifold and studs without removing the engine. It was hard having to drill out several studs but it is possible. It took almost 7 hours. I unbolted the left motor mount which helped
 
3 months ago I replaced both sides, Lifted motor, drilled a few, a few came right out... Used new Ford New manifolds and special copper coated studs.... Hope to be good for a while....
 
Another case of exhaust manifold leak - loud ticking after a cold start then goes away as engine warms. Dealer estimates $4000 to remove engine and factor broken studs. 08 ST Limited 94k 4.6, My big disappointment in Ford . with this design. Have not decided to part with it yet . Any comment welcomed.
Find an independent shop. With the vehicle on a lift and the fender liner removed, you can access nearly every bolt in the manifold. Sometimes they don't break off flush. There is some of the bolt exposed and you/they can heat it with a torch and remove it.
 
In my 10’ STA v8 I had broke studs in both heads, I was able to remove all the broken studs without lifting the motor up but HEAT is definitely a plus if not a must in some cases. Now, yes it takes some patience and some good shop skills. Here are a few pics of the driver side back stud being removed. As mentioned in an earlier post access is much easier with the inner fender liner removed. If the broken studs are behind either of the shock towers, you will need to add more patience.
 

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Had a really loud rumble at cold start on my 07 XLT V8 - a definite exhaust manifold leak. Was worried about having to pull engine and have some massive costs - instead I got a referral to a fantastic independent local exhaust and muffler shop who took a look and managed to just re-torque the bolts to address it in less than an hour! If anyone else is in this spot, maybe ask them to do that first before getting into the massive labor costs.
 
That’s great. Most people try replacing the gaskets or the manifold which can become a National Lampoon’s Vacation.
 
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