What a nightmare! Exhaust manifold swap on the 07

[rjdelp7]

I had three studs broken off and took it to my local repair shop. They replaced two of them with standard bolts and left the third one that was behind the shock tower. He said they just tightened it down real good. Huh, didn't ask about that one. Paid the shop over $600 and was on my way. Two weeks later , the exhaust leak was back. The shop would not stand behind the repair. I ended up taking mine to the Ford dealership (which is where I should have gone in the first place). They had to separate the body from the frame and lift the body up to get to the manifold. I now have everything repaired to Ford specs and she purrs like a kitten. It did cost $1600 though.

I paid 1/3 that. The body does not have come off frame. They pull the wheel and inner fender. They unbolt exhaust and cut bolts on manifold. Pretty straightforward job, that shops are familiar with. The only wild card, was a stud broken off in head. A stud extractor must be used and it is time consuming. Mine had three broken studs. The mechanic used vise grips, on chunks sticking out of head. They still dinged me $50 extra (25 min labor?) , but I was expecting to pay more.

 

[Adieu]

If you guys are struggling with corroded stuff you cant wrench off....have you tried the blowtorch and candlewax approach??