Exhaust manifold removal to remove heads?

[71cam]

I have a 97 Ranger with a 4.0 lt and might need to take the heads off to check for cracked/warped head or bad gasket, am pushing air into the coolant. Can anybody tell me if I need to remove the exhaust manifolds to remove the heads or can the heads be removed with the manifolds left on?

 

[stx4.0]

That will probably depend on where you are located.By that I mean how much rust are on your exhaust manifolds and bolts.Ford used really small bolts on these(10 mm if I remember right)and they are very prone to seize and then twist off when you try to remove them.Making you have to pay extra at a machine shop to extract them for you if you dont have the tools to do it yourself.If your manifold bolts dont give any trouble I would remove them.If you can run your motor and get it warm somtimes that will help get them loose if they dont want to budge but alot of times that doesnt work either.I always use never seize when I put them back.It will help down the road if you ever need to pull them again.

 

[71cam]

Thanks for the comments. One of my concerns is as you say that the bolts may to tight and want to break and it is also very tight on the P.S. to get at the bolts and that is why I was thinking of just removing the exhaust pipes at the manifolds and removing the head with the manifolds attached if possible. Then remove the manifolds from the heads on the work bench instead. Was just wondering if that is a possible way of doing it.

 

[srteach]

Yes, it is possible to remove the heads with exhaust manifolds attached. It is a pain in the A** to do, though.

When the heads are off (if exhaust is attached), soak the nuts with pblaster for a day (re-apply often), heat them up with a mapp / propane torch, and take them off. The top side studs do tend to break off easily, and then you need a machine shop to remove the broken off studs. Neversieze is your friend during re-assembly.

 

[JoeCanada]

Just my 2c...

I had the same problem, couldn't get to all the exhaust mani bolts when I was pulling the heads, and the bolts at the y-pipe were also seized, so I was forced to cut the two pipes at the collector, and remove the entire head/manifold/pipe assembly. Once the heads were out, I soaked the bolts in liquid wrench, and they popped free no problem with an impact, not one broken bolt.

Yeah, it's a pain in the ass to pull the heads with the manifolds attached, but it is doable.