I have had a manifold leak from both sides for awhile now, and I finally got around to fixing one the passenger side today. Two broken bolts and one hell of a warped manifold. The manifold is at the shop getting surfaced. I should get it back in an hour or two. If you have 09-15 ram 1500, plan on doing this, it seems to be a problem with them.
exhaust manifold bolt replace on ram
- Thread starter jake
- Start date
cbarge
World Famous Barge in a Budget
At my work,a daily occurrence.
Not just Rams either..
All domestic pick ups..Chevy 4.8,5.3,6.0L being the easier ones to work on.
Rams are next on the difficulty list.
F150's 5.4L are the worst. Dealerships claim they have to remove the cab to repair the exhaust.
We cheat...remove the frt tires, motor mounts, inner fender liner and jack the motor up as much as possible and weasel in there to fix it.
Aluminum heads, cast iron exhaust manifolds...Differentt type of metals where they have different heat expansions/contractions. Hence broken studs.
Depending on how much mileage are on the engines,most Rams and Phords we end up replacing the log manifolds.Majority of them crack or just plain rotten.
Not just Rams either..
All domestic pick ups..Chevy 4.8,5.3,6.0L being the easier ones to work on.
Rams are next on the difficulty list.
F150's 5.4L are the worst. Dealerships claim they have to remove the cab to repair the exhaust.
We cheat...remove the frt tires, motor mounts, inner fender liner and jack the motor up as much as possible and weasel in there to fix it.
Aluminum heads, cast iron exhaust manifolds...Differentt type of metals where they have different heat expansions/contractions. Hence broken studs.
Depending on how much mileage are on the engines,most Rams and Phords we end up replacing the log manifolds.Majority of them crack or just plain rotten.
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
As cbarge said it's not only dodge that breaks them. Remember when exhaust manifold bolts were 3/8 the 8mm they use now just can't take the stress
CanCritter
Senior Member
don't imagine programers like bullydog ect help
Yup well known problem on the Rams and it is the metalurgy that is the issue. No amount of antiseize seems to make a difference. Usually happens around 70-80k and usually rear most stud. Ford dealers have the big overhead cranes to lift the cabs off - crazy engineering going on there!
Popping that cab off in less than an hour is one of the critical tasks the diesel boys have to master... Can't do much more than an oil change with it assembled. The gas engines are supposed to be way easier this way, especially since they're already set up to do it. I kinda wish I was still wrenching just to try my hand at some of this... wait... no I don't... I'm no longer in so much pain I cant sleep... its better this way.
Drivers side was a pain in the butt. It took me twice as long to do. The manifold was not warped as bad but surfaced it anyway. I looked back at my paperwork for the truck, the dealer replaced all the back bolts when the truck had 6000 miles. They new something. I guess the 2012 and newer, this is all warranty work up to 80000 miles. I, unforturnately, have to deal with it myself or spend 1200 bucks at the dealer.
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