Gen 2--V8, exhaust manifold

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Update from today: Trac is in the bay and disassembled. Turns out this time they had the manifold and studs and gasket in stock. Maybe they knew I would be back and pre ordered it, lol. They also did try to tack on an extra repair that they noticed, but I declined it. They said my heater control valve is leaking. IIRC it is on the top of everything on the pass side towards the back of the engine. Slide the hoses off, and then onto the new one and done. They wanted $182.73 part and labor to put it on. There are 2 styles of valve I have found for it, not sure which I have but I'll see when I go to get it, and the most expensive part was about $30. So I could spend $182.73 to have it fixed, or I can spend $30 and 10 minutes of my time to put it on. I was never really good at math, but still I think the answer is obvious...



Anyways, he said hopefully by tomorrow it will be ready to go and I can go pick it up. My fingers are crossed for it. The service writer did not know how many of the studs were broken on the Pass side (drivers side was 2 when I had that fixed, but he will have the parts for me to inspect when I go and pick it up. Might also pick up the heater control valve @ the parts dept. while I am there too depending on how much Motorcraft one is vs. the ones on Rockauto.com
 
Just got back from picking the ST up, and it is fixed again. Total invoice cost was $698.31 Parts and Labor, but cost to me was $0, covered under emissions warranty somehow. I am not really sure how, but they said it was all covered. So once again I did not have to use my extended warranty for the repair. This time around, on the Pass. side they replaces ALL the studs/nuts and the Manifold, and of course the gasket.



Looking at the invoice, it appears it took them nearly as long to remove/replace the parts as it did for the diagnostic. 1.9 hrs to diagnose the problem, and 2.3 to replace the parts.



Pricing for the parts:



RH Manifold: $240.79

Stud x8: $13.36

Gasket x2: $21.00

Hex Nuts, RH Thread x8: $9.84



Really no telling what the weak link in the chain is. Is it the studs that were too weak that boke and then the manifold warps because nothing holding it in place, or was it the manifold that warped putting too much pressure on the studs snapping them off?



Apparently none of them had to be drilled out this time because of where they were broken at, they were able to put a vice grip type tool on them and back them out that way.



Hopefully I will not need to revisit this thread, however if I do I bet it is because one of the old studs on the Drivers side ends up breaking, since they left all the original ones there except for the two that had to be drilled/tapped.. Time/Miles will tell... :banana:
 
I know that this is a old thread but I wanted to report that the samething happened to me 3-4 days ago. the right side manifold was leaking.



Got the truck back today. they replaced the right manifold,Exhaust gaskits, all nuts & studs. they also had to drill the two broken studs inside the head.



Didn"t have to pay due to it being under warranty. Im hopeing this doesn't happen again.
 
Mine is doing this. I have 50K on the truck but am not the original owner, does that matter from a warranty perspective?

 
Mine started making a ticking sound recently. My guess is that the passenger side manifold has a leak now since I had the driver side replaced about a year ago. Still under the 6yr/60k powertrain warranty so it should be covered, assuming it is another manifold leak.



By the way, I installed an Optima battery after my last dealer visit which fixed my battery issues. Still blame those clowns for killing the original battery though. Wonder what they will screw up this time?



I have the same question as Aaron, is there a header that will fit the Sport Trac? What about shorty headers for a Mustang? Might have to rig up something to get cats in the system but it could be a way to solve this warped manifold crap.
 
Add another to the list...08 STA, 61k miles, my regular shop said at least one of the manifold bolts is toast that they can see. He wouldn't even touch it...will go to the dealer and see how much I need to bend over. Anyone find a TSB for this? I guess I can try to convince them that this should be covered under emissions warranty since I am over for regular and powertrain mileage limits. What a piece o crap design...now I know how Ford is making it's profits...cutting corners on design and cheap fasteners.
 
I took mine in last Friday to have the dealer check for a leak. They had it all weekend and never were able to hear the sound I had described to them. I told them on Saturday afternoon to leave it outside overnight and away from the all the shop noise and to have at least two people listen for it, one to start it and the other to stand in front of the truck with the hood up. Well, on Monday morning they actually had two techs standing there, one on each side and they confirmed that this time it was the passenger side manifold. I went through the EXACT same multi-day scenario last summer but that time it was the driver side. As a matter of fact the same service advisor commented both times that I had a non-stock exhaust system (Magnaflow) as if that was going to affect the warranty or some BS. They were supposed to have the parts there today (Tuesday) and I should get the truck back this afternoon, assuming they don't have too much trouble with broken off studs in the head, etc.



Their standard procedure is to replace the manifold as well all of the studs and nuts. I think they have learned that the real problem is that the manifold warps causing the weak little studs to snap off. Just replacing the broken studs is not a long term solution. I don't know if they have done anything to change the manifold design to make it less prone to warpage or if they have upgraded the stud material. If not I suspect I will be going through this same process after another 20 or 30k miles.
 
Update: Called the dealer this afternoon and they found three broken studs. Won't be getting it back today as they were drilling out the last stud at around 4:15.
 
Picked up the truck after work. No more exhaust leak. According to the invoice they replaced the right (passenger) side exhaust manifold, the manifold to head gasket and all eight studs and nuts. All covered by 5 yr/60k mile powertrain warranty. There were three broken studs and two of those were broken off inside the head and had to be drilled out. Better them than me...:grin:
 
Stealership has the car...estimate is ~$900 for installation of new manifold, studs, gasket, etc. for the passenger side. That is assuming the other studs don't snap and they need to drill out the stud. Unfortunately i am over the mileage limt on the warranty (of course). It still irks me that they would source such cheap hardware. quality is job one...uh, yea, i guess they dont put their money where their mouth is. I am going Japanese when I get rid of this thing...
 
OK, much worse news, 2 of the studs broke and is inside the head. They have to pull the head and drill out from the inside. Total estimate for the passenger bank is $3400. Of course, my truck just exceeded the mileage threshold for the warranty. I put in a call to FORD to see if they will consider this as warranty...not holding my breath though. THis is my last FORD product EVER. Am getting a Durango with a Hemi before the other side craps out on me and I end up spending a total of 7k for some silly ass studs that FORD cheaped out on. Heck, the truck is barely worth 15k so spending that much on such a simple to prevent defect just gets my blood boiling. Too bad, the STA was actually a good type of truck for what I was using it for. Too bad the quality sucks. ANyone looking for an STA, let me know
 
MosSTA, I would get another dealer to look at it. When I had mine done there were broken studs on both sides. They were able to drill them out without pulling either head. I don't get the part about drilling the studs out from the inside either. I'm pretty sure that makes no sense at all. The only reason to pull the heads would be if you could not get access to drill them from the outside and you wanted to be able to set them up on a drill press or something. Even then, you would still have to drill them from the outside. Like I said, my dealer had no problem drilling them on the engine. It might take a special drill (90 degree head?) that can fit in a tight space and the ability to use it. Sounds like they might be taking you for a ride...



On another note, one of mine seems to be leaking again and this is after both manifolds have been replaced. The driver side was done about 20,000 miles ago and the passenger side about 2 1/2 weeks ago! I just made an appointment to have it looked at next week. Any bets on which side it is this time?



I can say this much, once this is out of warranty and it happens again, which it will, I will be figuring out a way to install a set of headers and get rid of these junk-azz manifolds.:angry:
 
Complained to FORD and they gave me $1000 off the job. I would've gone to another dealer excpet that they already had a bunch of stuff already out and on the ground. asking them to put it back, charge me for the time and then going to another dealer just wasn't in the cards. I will know for the next time to shop it around - assuming i keep it until then. I may pull the trigger on a Durango if I find any decent deals.
 
The truck has been at the dealer since yesterday morning. No surprise that they have not been able to hear it - again. I went through this same conversation about not being in the noisy shop when they are listening, using a stethoscope, etc., etc., but I can almost guarantee they are doing the same stupid crap as the last two times. Now the same a-hole service advisor that mentioned the non-stock exhaust is saying that even if they did hear the noise they cannot replace another manifold without first getting approval from Ford since both sides have already been replaced. He may be right but he is such a jerk to deal with. Now I can't even get the truck back until Monday because he claims they don't have a shuttle service on Saturdays. :angry:

Anyway, I have emailed Ford Customer Service. I would stay clear of Frank at Montrose Ford in Fairlawn, OH if you ever need to go there.
 

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