Hey folks,

Just a quick one here hopefully. I just replaced the exhaust manifolds on my '99 F-150 4x4 w/5.4l, and now I am thinking about doing a job for a friend on his '04 4x4 w/5.4l. However, he is trying to tell me that you have to pull the motor out to do the job or else tear the whole front end apart?! Not likely I said, but before I commit to doing it for him, I want to be sure. I just did the job on my truck by removing the inner fender liner and working through the fenderwells and from under the truck. Is there any reason this cannot be done on an '04?

Also, is it any more complicated to do this project if he puts shorties on instead of doing the OEM, rusts out all the time style mainfolds?

And no, he is not interested in putting new long tube headers on it instead.

--DIY

 

You dont need to pull the motor in order to install manifolds/shorties/longtubes. Its the same as your truck which is through the inner fender and from the bottom of the truck. Personally I would just put long tubes in place of factory manifolds. Shorties wont gain any power (from what people are saying after dyno runs) and the worst part is taking oem manifolds out. Long tubes (obx and dynatech) slide in very very easily, from my experience anyway...

 

I just had shorties put on my 2000 yesterday. Didnt do it myself but Im really glad I didnt! It took an experienced guy half the day to get the old studs out and the new headers on. I know they didnt jack the motor. I would assume an 04 would be a lot easier than a 2000. Maybe some studs still in decent shape.

 

I agree. I also had the JBA shorties put on at a buddy's shop. The mechanic didn't want to do another one after he pulled my manifolds and swapped with shorties lol. He said the 04+ trucks are even worse to work on. Said something about lack of clearance between the headers and the shock towers due to the front coil over suspension. He said it helps to jack the motor up on the new ones to get all the bolts in.

 

On mine the issue wasnt with installing the new ones. The problem was with those old studs. He said that he had to weld nuts on 2 of them just to remove them. I know there was at least one that had just disintigrated to below the surface of the head. I guess he must have ended up doing an ok job. I dont hear any leaks at all

 

Thanks guys. That's what I was assuming, but it's good to know that has been everyone else's experience too. You know what happens when you ***-u-me.....

-DIY

 

Aaaaaarrrgghhhhh!!! This project sucks! Not only can I not remove one of the bolts that is obscured by the shock tower, but it appears that the front two bolts were rusted off in the manifold (or in the block) when he brought the truck over here. Worked on this thing all day yesterday and I still haven't gotten the old manifold off.

I assume at this point that my only recourse is to loosen up the engine and transmission and jack them up far enough (about 4-6 inches) that I can see everything above the shock tower. Can anyone confirm this? I know I'll have go with the whole easy out route (ironic that they call it an easy out!), but can this be accessed through the space above the shock tower?

Looking for suggestions ("other than don't try it" and "have someone else do it for you" --Read the screen name)

--DIYMechanic

 

^ Maybe you could unbolt just that one motor mount and jack it up a little?

 

Not looking likely. Looks like the fan shroud, and a bunch of other junk is going to have to come off for this to happen...It's looking like the engine has got to come up about 6-8 inches! I guess I better get busy.

 

Man, I'm beginning to be at a major loss here. I can't even remove the studs I can reach. I've tried soaking them in Break Free for a day and a half, I've tried heating the head with a torch (which worked flawlessly on my truck), I've tried using a broken stud extractor set in Metric and SAE, I've tried welding a nut onto the studs and turning them out that way, I tried cutting a slot in the end of the stud and turning them out with a screwdriver, and I cannot get these things to budge.

I'm running out of ideas here guys. I'm open to suggestions. Anyone ever done this on an 04 or later FX4 that can help me shed some light on the subject? Have all the experts gone silent? Shall I throw in the towel and hire it done (I hate surrendering it feels distinctly French).

I am wondering about the front two studs too. What all has to come off the engine for me to lift it high enough to access that area through the fender well? Do I need to completely pull the engine? I really hate to do that, but is that the only way?

 

Bump. Really No one has done this themselves?

 

Can't help you...But dropped my truck off at the dealer for Manifold inspection/replacement since it was leaking the other day. Dropped off at 8am, call at 9am saying he was into it and it'd be covered by warranty, called at 2pm saying it was ready.

Maybe try talking to a dealer tech to see how they handle issues?

 

Wondering how you made out. Check this write up out.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jmray/F250ExhMani.htm

 

hey man idk if your done yet or not but over labor day weekend my father and i put my shorties on my 05 Fx4...he is a master mechanic and has been for like 25 years..he wanted to pull the motor cause we were also replacing all the spark plugs, C.O.P.s and the rear main..the motor wasn't really that hard to pull and when it was out none of the bolts stuck in the motor or anything while removing the manifolds...hope this helps but i believe it was deff faster pulling the motor then trying to work in such tight space. goodluck