Exhaust manifold bolt broken

[bctbct]

Mechanic broke a bolt removing it on my work truck to replace the manifold. He said the head could be sent off but would cost me $1500.

When I asked him if it would effect the perfomance without repairing it he did not give me a definitive no.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Wait... HE broke a bolt taking the exhaust manifold off, and he wants to send the head off to have the broken bolt removed for a $1500 COST TO YOU?

Get your truck back and never go there again.

Edit: I found a TSB in the last post for a few Ford models with the 5.4L 2v Engine... depending on what your truck is, this might be an avenue to pursue as well: http://www.mombu.com/ford/ford-expedition/t-broken-bolt-in-exhaust-manifold-2570087.html

 

[iamwiz82]

If the mechanic broke it he should be fixing it, no?

 

[bctbct]

You know, everytime a mechanic breaks something on my vehicle it always turns into my problem.

Honesty I dont know that much about the procedure but I was surprised that a steel bolt would seize in an aluminum head. If I had to bet I would put money on snapping a bolt off installing and not removing.

But....its a company owned work truck, Im on vacation, if the thing will run fine without the bolt I guess I dont care to fight with them.

 

[CurseTheSky]

The procedure basically entails taking the head off ($), clamping it securely to a drill press ($), grinding the face of the broken bolt to get an even surface if necessary ($), using a short drill bit to minimize wobble ($), drilling the broken bolt, and tapping / removing ($). And hopefully the threads are still intact.

I can't speak for newer vehicles (because I don't know what sensors it could screw up), but on anything older, loose or missing exhaust manifold bolts isn't a big deal.

 

[bctbct]

Thanks Curse, just saw your edit, its on an 05 dodge. He said they tried to get it out, not sure if they used an extractor or what. I am worried about an exhaust leak, he said there is a total of 8 bolts per manifold.

The manifold had a leak and was causing a chatter noise, thats how this whole thing started.

 

[brblx]

a good mechanic will know how to CYA well enough to avoid these situations. he should have told you that the manifold and bolts were rusty, and problems could arise.

did he even do anything to prep? on a rusty cast-iron manifold, i always soak the shit out of everything with penetrating oil well before trying to remove any bolts.

frankly, if the head really does need to come off, i'd take the jackass to small claims court and make him pay for it.

 

[bruceb]

I agree, the mechanic should be responsible for fixing it. For that amount, you can probably get a new head for the engine.

 

[CurseTheSky]

a good mechanic will know how to CYA well enough to avoid these situations. he should have told you that the manifold and bolts were rusty, and problems could arise.

did he even do anything to prep? on a rusty cast-iron manifold, i always soak the shit out of everything with penetrating oil well before trying to remove any bolts.

frankly, if the head really does need to come off, i'd take the jackass to small claims court and make him pay for it.

My thoughts exactly. It sounds like he was rushing the job and whoops, look what happened. I'd be livid if someone called me with their screw up and told me it was going to cost me an additional $1500 to fix it.

Since it's a company truck, maybe you can explain the situation to the company and have them contact him. If not, I'd have a lawyer give him a call.

Reminds me of the all-too-common ploys where a shop takes a vehicle in for one thing, then does hundreds of dollars worth of work for something else and demands that the customer pays for it, since they already did the work. I don't care if my vehicle needed new rotors, struts, tie rods, blinker fluid and a nitrogen tire refill. If I didn't authorize the work personally (or generally say "go through it, give it what it needs), I'm not paying for it (and you'd better have the vehicle ready to leave your sorry excuse for a shop as soon as I get there).

 

[Squisher]

The procedure basically entails taking the head off ($), clamping it securely to a drill press ($), grinding the face of the broken bolt to get an even surface if necessary ($), using a short drill bit to minimize wobble ($), drilling the broken bolt, and tapping / removing ($). And hopefully the threads are still intact.

I can't speak for newer vehicles (because I don't know what sensors it could screw up), but on anything older, loose or missing exhaust manifold bolts isn't a big deal.

You are probably right about the procedure they'd follow, but if it was me drilling it out would be my last resort. Too many things can go wrong. Even though I own essentially the same engine in my truck I have no idea what kind of access anybody would have to get the bolt out with the head in place. People would shake their heads when I got out broken bolts I couldn't even see with a magnet mounted flashlight, a magnet mounted mirror, and an assortment of a dozen different homemade prick punches of every size and length.

I'd hazard to guess that the closer the bolt is to the front or back of the manifold the more likelihood that not having it will be a problem.

 

[Raizinman]

Sorry, I don't believe it possible for a mechanic to know the tensile strength of a used and rusted bolt. If it breaks, why is it his fault? Any experienced mechanic would have told the customer that exhaust bolts occasionally do break. Just the nature of the beast. Granted with lots of experience, there are numerous tricks a technician can do to prevent bolt breakage, but this normally comes with many years experience.

 

[brblx]

a good mechanic can tell something bad is going to happen. with experience, you can feel when a bolt is about to break, nevermind that just looking at a rusty manifold with rusty bolts should be noted as a sign to precede with caution. i highly doubt he just threw a wrench on it and it broke on the first turn. if that was case, it would be broken off at the head, and i'm assuming the OP has one sheared at the block.

 

[bctbct]

Picked up the truck. It was the bolt on the driver rear near the firewall. Dealer said that the bolt is not sticking out so probably no chance of removing it without pulling the head.

The chatter noise is gone for now.

I will let my company decide how to proceed.

 

[derrick2237]

Obviously it is his fault and he should pay. But seriously, I dont see how that would cost $1500. That job is almost all labor, and at even $100/hour, i dont see how that would take 15 hours.