broken exhaust manifold bolt fix

[puty72]

Last year july 2009 I noticed that my passangers side exhaust manifold had developed a crack in it. I knew that my chances of gettin the old bolts our without breaking where very slim. But anyways i tryed and broked just about every bolt. With the new exhaust manifold sittin there that i paid $80 for i figured i had to find a way to get it on because i didnt have the money to get the bolts drilled out. My buddy and I came up with an idea of using 3 small C clamps on the top to pull it together and hope the remain parts of the bottom bolts will hold the manifold close enough to the head without leaks. I went to lowes and bought 3 three inch c clamps. came out to be $15 (could be cheaper elsewhere). I then cut the flange of the bottom of the c clamp so it would sit in the hole on the front side of the mounting flange on the cylinder head. (picture below)

Then using a leverage bar i tightened them as tight as a i could without doing damage to the mounting area on the head. The c clamp closest to the front of the motor i cut the handle off and welded a nut on so i could use a wrench due to clearance issues.

It is september 2010 now and the c clamps are still holding up very well. I check them every two weeks or so to make sure they are still tight and suprisingly they are. I dont know if this fix will work for every situation depending on how much of the bolt u broke off or not but it worked for me. In the future i will get the bolts drilled out but for now it works fine.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

i couldn't help but laugh, but damn fine engineering there. at least it works good

 

[puty72]

yea everyone laugh at first too hahaha. I coulda had it fix the right way 2 months after i did that but i figured "lets see how long this stays like this" before spending the extra money.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

yeah getting broken bolts out is a nightmare. its easier to just take the head off and do it on a workbench

 

[martin]

Now that's using your head.

 

[jhammel85]

lol. Gotta do what you gotta do right?

Sorry but I have to ask Why not take those heads off and get the bolts out?

 

[robertc1024]

You need to post that on the redneck engineering site. But, hey, if it works ...

 

[bobbywalter]

i do it on the outlets too....the drivers side outlet rots off in the rust belt...put a quick collar on and a baby c lamp....keep on trucking




as you your manifold....drill and tap or put nuts on the back side of the flange...usually have to grind on the nuts a lil on a few so they fit in there....\

been doing it like that since the 80's

 

[bobbywalter]

yeah getting broken bolts out is a nightmare. its easier to just take the head off and do it on a workbench

dude....do you know how much it cost to take the head off?


jack the motor up and drill out or pull the motor and drill out...certainly....poppin the heads on these is a bad idea.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

what makes it so expensive? heads always warped?

 

[bobbywalter]

how much for coolant, oil, headgaskets, and bolts?

not too mention even more time...if you have a good running 2.9 dont fawk with it!

generally its at least 100 bux for cheap parts.

 

[IntoxiNation]

OK I had to register just to comment on this post. This idea works great! I did it on my old Suburban and it held for 15 years, until I had to rebuild the engine and decided to go ahead and "fix it right".

I'm also getting ready to do this on my 96 explorer. 3 out of 4 bolts broke taking the crossover off at the manifolds (changing a flex plate).

Just glad to see I'm not the only one who recognizes the power of the c-clamp!

 

[CraigK]

Great idea & post.
You should post this again in the Exhaust section.
(And buy stock in a C-clamp company.)

CraigK

 

[cavibird2005]

Red Neck Engineering at its finest



Cut them off, drill them, and than helicoil. Yeah it might be more work. But no one will be laughing hysterically when they pop the hood on your truck

 

[rusty70f100]

ROFL!

I did that on an old FE big block about 10 years ago, but only on one cylinder.