V10 Exhaust Manifold Studs

[Sixinarow]

Hi all. I found an E350 with a V10. It has exhaust manifold studs that are broken. I don't know, yet, which ones are broken. But I wanted to see what is all involved with actually accessing the manifolds? I've never owned a van or had to dig into a vehicle that has an engine that far under the hood.

Thanks!

 

[86scotty]

Stop now and take it to someone. Broken manifold studs are old school mechanic stuff. They are a pain in the *ss and every old school guy has dealt with them on big block 460's and 454's. It's gonna cost money and time and you don't want to fool with it. Plus, you'll have to have your manifolds milled anyway. Best left to a capable shop who has a network to handle it.

But....before I got carried away there, are they actually leaking? I've seen several blocks with broken studs (V10 and otherwise) and they are fine......but it's only a matter of time.

 

[OlyEsteban]

I'll echo what Eric said. Our '97 v10 had the manifold studs break. Our trusted mechanic who does a lot of work on e-series vans he showed me how badly his knuckles were skinned and bruised after replacement. He said it was an [expletive] nightmare getting to the studs and working in the tight space. He had to drill several out and mill the manifold. We did drive the van for an extended trip [PNW -> Utah] between buying it (likely with some broken studs) and the manifold starting to leak. Some 'easy' Moab trails fixed that

 

[Sixinarow]

Thanks, guys. I passed on it. I don't have the garage space or tools or patience for it, so I planned on taking it somewhere. But I was quoted $2100 minimum. Much more if the studs broke and they had to pull the engine. I'm not writing a blank check. I'll keep searching.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Honestly, I'd pull the heads and take them to a machine shop. Have the broken studs removed and the heads rebuilt at the same time.

If you are really feeling froggy you can bolt on a set of headers since you already have it all apart.

 

[Bigdirtygreen]

This thread has me mildly anxious as there is some rust on my 98's exhaust manifolds as well. It's a solid year away from 4 x 4 conversion and probably 2 years from getting beat up a lot, but has me thinking... when am I gonna have to deal with these?

 

[86scotty]

This thread has me mildly anxious as there is some rust on my 98's exhaust manifolds as well. It's a solid year away from 4 x 4 conversion and probably 2 years from getting beat up a lot, but has me thinking... when am I gonna have to deal with these?

Heck no, those are fine. Studs and manifolds aren't painted from the factory so they're going to get a little surface rust on them. I with I had a picture of bad ones to show you. Yours will likely last a few hundred thousand miles more. Bad ones are simply gone, rusted away completely. There's no evidence a stud/nut was ever there in some cases.

 

[Bigdirtygreen]

Heck no, those are fine. Studs and manifolds aren't painted from the factory so they're going to get a little surface rust on them. I with I had a picture of bad ones to show you. Yours will likely last a few hundred thousand miles more. Bad ones are simply gone, rusted away completely. There's no evidence a stud/nut was ever there in some cases.

That's reassassuring. I know a few parts like the EGR and the exhaust can't hold paint due to high heat so rust is normal, I've just been getting beat up by friends and family a lot for putting any money into "this piece of **** van" so any rust I see makes me, I guess even more self conscious that they are right. Trust my gut. My van is fine. Gonna update my build thread this weekend and let the group judge the rust, not the family. Thanks!