2004 Dodge Dakota 4.7l broken exhaust manifold stud

[jgillott]

My father's truck will not pass state inspection due to an exhaust leak at the drivers side manifold. I haven't torn too far in to it yet, but there is at least one broken stud. Has anyone tackled this job before? Any tips or tricks to make this as pain free as possible?

 

[GrantP]

I have had the same problem on my wife's 03 JGC with the 4.7, the rearmost bolt broke and created a small exhaust leak. It was years ago but the only good advice I can give you is to grow smaller hands, maybe a yoga class, and some sort of zen thing for patience.

Thankfully on mine there was enough bolt protruding that I was able to remove it without pulling the manifold, hopefully you'll have the same luck. I put in a hardware store stainless steel bolt to replace it and haven't had a problem since. Good luck!

 

[fest3er]

If you can get at any part of the end of the stud, dremel a slot in it, then use an 'impact' driver to loosen it. ('Impact' meaning the kind that looks like a punch and you striek it with a hammer.) It ight be enough to loosen it.

If you can't put a slot in it, dremel a 'land' on it and use a drift pin or punch of some kind to turn the stud.

If neither works, you'll likely have to drill and re-tap the hole.

 

[jgillott]

I have had the same problem on my wife's 03 JGC with the 4.7, the rearmost bolt broke and created a small exhaust leak. It was years ago but the only good advice I can give you is to grow smaller hands, maybe a yoga class, and some sort of zen thing for patience.

Thankfully on mine there was enough bolt protruding that I was able to remove it without pulling the manifold, hopefully you'll have the same luck. I put in a hardware store stainless steel bolt to replace it and haven't had a problem since. Good luck!

Did you access it from the bottom? I can see it but I can't get my hand up in there, even on the lift. I'm not going any further tonight, but I'll at least have to remove the heat shield and steering shaft to possibly get up in there.

 

[jgillott]

If you can get at any part of the end of the stud, dremel a slot in it, then use an 'impact' driver to loosen it. ('Impact' meaning the kind that looks like a punch and you striek it with a hammer.) It ight be enough to loosen it.

If you can't put a slot in it, dremel a 'land' on it and use a drift pin or punch of some kind to turn the stud.

If neither works, you'll likely have to drill and re-tap the hole.

It looks to be broken off flush with the manifold. I can't really get in there far enough yet to feel if there is any left above the surface.

 

[GrantP]

Did you access it from the bottom? I can see it but I can't get my hand up in there, even on the lift. I'm not going any further tonight, but I'll at least have to remove the heat shield and steering shaft to possibly get up in there.

I removed the heat shield and I never reinstalled it. I had to access the bolts from both top and bottom to get the shield off. The rear bolt that broke I was able to get to from the top thankfully. I know I removed the entire air cleaner assembly to get access to it but I didn't need to pull the steering shaft, Dakota maybe be different.

 

[GrantP]

If you can get at any part of the end of the stud, dremel a slot in it, then use an 'impact' driver to loosen it. ('Impact' meaning the kind that looks like a punch and you striek it with a hammer.) It ight be enough to loosen it.

If you can't put a slot in it, dremel a 'land' on it and use a drift pin or punch of some kind to turn the stud.

If neither works, you'll likely have to drill and re-tap the hole.

I know in my case getting a dremel in there would be hard, swinging a hammer would be impossible. I was able to loosen the stud by hand after it broke, that was a huge relief. Mine does have the aluminum HO heads though.

 

[jgillott]

Um...well......I can't get my hand in this blasted thing no matter what I do. Dang, why do this little problems have to be such a big project.

 

[GrantP]

Um...well......I can't get my hand in this blasted thing no matter what I do. Dang, why do this little problems have to be such a big project.

I spent the better part of a day on it when mine broke...all for a 50 cent bolt. Lots of patience required but you'll get it if you bleed enough!

 

[jgillott]

I spent the better part of a day on it when mine broke...all for a 50 cent bolt. Lots of patience required but you'll get it if you bleed enough!

I had to walk away from it for today. You weren't kidding that it is tight in there.

 

[Wayne M.]

How about jacking up off the mounts and going in through the wheel well?

 

[jgillott]

I can try that tomorrow.

Here's the view through the inner fender.

 

[Wayne M.]

Yea, I think I’d be ringing up Dorman for a new log. If you do disconnect the steering, don’t forget to put a bungee around the steering wheel, or lock the column. You’ll lose the clock spring if the wheel spins.

 

[mweiman]

Dorman makes some brackets for certain engines that you bolt to the head and then it puts pressure against the manifold to avoid replacing the bolts. Not sure if they are available for dodge engine though.

 

[jgillott]

I haven't seen one for the Dakota, but I will do some research later today. It's a good idea though.

 

[JTMATTEL05]

Did this twice on the same manafold after the first time it broke a few months later. It was so easy for me. Once the stud broke the stud left in the truck I was able to remove by hand.

 

[jgillott]

Did this twice on the same manafold after the first time it broke a few months later. It was so easy for me. Once the stud broke the stud left in the truck I was able to remove by hand.

I'm not so lucky. Things are very rused in there. I've managed to get the heat shield off. I'm not going to have a chance to work on it for a few days, but I'll get to drilling it out next week.

 

[Wayne M.]

Get a set of those expensive left hand drills. They work!

 

[brods]

My father's truck will not pass state inspection due to an exhaust leak at the drivers side manifold. I haven't torn too far in to it yet, but there is at least one broken stud. Has anyone tackled this job before? Any tips or tricks to make this as pain free as possible?

Pain free as possible? Pay someone else to do it!

Other than being a smartass I got nothing, but do feel your pain. I'm in the middle of doing a subframe complete with captured nuts spinning inside inaccessible boxed sections of frame, chiseling off bolts so rusted there is no head to grab on to, unsuccessfully trying to avoid jagged rusty metal which has an affinity for flesh (better check when that last tetanus shot was), every "simple" task turning into a time consuming challenge to figure how to get it done due to corroded fasteners. Ahh the joys of living in the rust belt, ain't it great? Hope the Dakota goes smoothly for you!

 

[jgillott]

Update. All finished. A couple of bolts, a gasket, and a bracket and we are back in business.

Biggest problem was getting in there to do the work. The other problem was that the manifold bolt was broken in a way that you simply couldn't get in there to drill it out. A little trick I learned.......take your Mig and drop a little bead of weld on top of the broken bolt. A few passes and you have good material to grab on to. All and all, I'm glad it's finished.