[JimmyD750]

Finally got around to it tonight. Thought I’d share my experience with drivers side.

First, I soaked all studs overnight twice with this magic stuff. Never have I seen such incredible penetration. It was all the way to the end of the threads! As a result they came out like butter, except one; the one that gets hottest right at the turbo. That one was already cracked, and it broke but was easily extracted by welding on a 3/8” nut and backing it out.

Next I cleaned the surface with a zip die grinder and a brown 3M wheel. Then I chased the threads using a little oil on the tap. The unused holes were a little bothersome but not as bad as I thought they’d be.

here’s a pic of the old vs new. I was thrown off by the fact that the BD inlet was smaller than stock, but they’re still slightly larger holes than on the heads so I’m good with That. The outlet however is larger than stock so that’s a plus. My main concern is longevity and reliability anyways. I have bigger turbos going on these so these will work perfect. They’re the best offered as of right now imo.

I also took this opportunity to clean out the backside of the valves and was surprised at how good they looked for 160k miles. I used professional grade BG induction cleaner in a pressurized spray can, along with a soft brass bristle round brush in the end of a drill to reall scrub it all out. I’d spray a bunch in the holes, let it sit and eat that carbon, scrub it out, rinse with more BG, then blow out and repeat about 4-5x. The runners and valves are down to original metal now! I know it’s not walnut blasting but it’s better than nothing.

Next I’m mounting the studs and heading home but I’ll go back, edit and update this post with the finish later. I’ll also do a rundown of installing the Garrett Powermaxes if anyones interested.

 

[snakebitten]

Thanks for sharing. Everyone wants to know more about these.

 

[Upshifter]

Thanks for this!! My BD manis are said to be arriving next week.

I have to be honest I’m a little conflicted, since the work begins when they arrive.

Question for folks having done manis themselves:

I’m not a welder and I don’t have one.

Is it at all realistic to expect I can DIY with a simple stud extractor and a torch?

Or do I need to just go in assuming I’ll have at least 1 stud snap off flush with the head?

For what it’s worth, my trucks only ever lived in Colorado so hoping that helps. 60k miles.

 

[JimmyD750]

Thanks for this!! My BD manis are said to be arriving next week.

I have to be honest I’m a little conflicted, since the work begins when they arrive.

Question for folks having done manis themselves:

I’m not a welder and I don’t have one.

Is it at all realistic to expect I can DIY with a simple stud extractor and a torch?

Or do I need to just go in assuming I’ll have at least 1 stud snap off flush with the head?

For what it’s worth, my trucks only ever lived in Colorado so hoping that helps. 60k miles.

I can’t stress enough how well this Kimball penetrant works. I’ve done a couple of these installs with buddies so far, and each time, at least 1 or 2 broke. BUT they don’t break at the head surface as you mentioned. They break at the manifold surface. Here’s a pic:

In the second picture at far right there’s a nub sticking out, and that’s the busted stud. I’m sure I could’ve gotten it out with vice grips tbh. These aren’t torqued down too awefully bad, but that heat cycling over years is murderous! I assume you mention your location bc it’s mild weather? If so that’s a help too.
If you were to ask me, especially due to your lack of a backup plan (welder) and your anxiety over the matter, I’d suggest that you do as I did with the Kimball spray (two nights in a row, spraying after turbos are out, I went through a full can). Use a 1/2” drive 1/2” deep well swivel socket and a long extension with a long handle 1/2” drive ratchet. You should have minimal problems if you take your time. Unfortunately there’s no method that ensures a 100% issue free removal lol.

Btw, if you DO resort to a torch, I’d avoid overheating. Personally I think you won’t need it if you soak it first, and I think you’ll have better results than you’re anticipating.

 

[snakebitten]

Edit: I was typing while this ^^^ was posted.
You will see that I am basically echoing his post.

Nobody can guarantee that you won't break a stud.
But if you treat every single one of them like they ARE going to break, but you are determined to not let them, I think your odds are back in your favor.

You do NOT have to put more force than you think you can get away with. But you will take longer because of the extra caution. Penetrating oil, heat, tap, Penetrating oil, heat tap-turn

I was in no hurry to get the exhaust studs out of a 17 year old Porsche. Just as notorious for snapping. I spent 2 days sprayin and waiting and sprayin and waiting..... Exerting what I felt should be safe pressure to turn. I heated and cooled a few times the area around the studs/nuts. And heated the studs themselves a few times.

Eventually, and always a bit surprising, the next attempt to unscrew, one more would just break lose.

I think the Penetrating oil did the most help. It just takes time for it to seep in and eat away at the bond.

 

[Upshifter]

Thank both so much for the feedback.

I will be seeking out that Kimballs!

Learning will most certainly ensue.

 

[FanaticalKilla]

Looks like a good design. The more material against the head better then heat transfer to the aluminum head which will shed the heat faster and more efficiently.

 

[mass-hole]

When I did mine on my 2014 I couldn’t believe how easy the studs came out. Half of them just came out with the nuts.

Even the one that had snapped came right out once i double nutted it.

So are the ports on the BD’s smaler than stock? But the outlet at the turbo us larger? Interesting. I always thought the stock ports were smaller than the ports on the heads

 

[Upshifter]

I guess I did too. When I heard talk of port matching I always figured it was the machining of the manis, not the heads.

 

[mass-hole]

I guess I did too. When I heard talk of port matching I always figured it was the machining of the manis, not the heads.

It absolutely was. I have seen multiple people do it, and SPD(or whoever it was) was selling their "port matched" oem manifolds.

 

[Go-C Graphics]

Thanks for this!! My BD manis are said to be arriving next week.

I have to be honest I’m a little conflicted, since the work begins when they arrive.

Question for folks having done manis themselves:

I’m not a welder and I don’t have one.

Is it at all realistic to expect I can DIY with a simple stud extractor and a torch?

Or do I need to just go in assuming I’ll have at least 1 stud snap off flush with the head?

For what it’s worth, my trucks only ever lived in Colorado so hoping that helps. 60k miles.

Worse case..... It's a good reason to get a $160 titanium welder from harbor freight.
You can never have too many tools.

 

[DNA Dan]

Worse case..... It's a good reason to get a $160 titanium welder from harbor freight.
You can never have too many tools.

Or test-break the studs prior to digging in and removing the turbos and everything. This way if one snaps off in a bad way you can still drive it to a shop.

 

[DNA Dan]

It absolutely was. I have seen multiple people do it, and SPD(or whoever it was) was selling their "port matched" oem manifolds.

Yea this looks a little sus. If you look where the gasket hits the ports on the head, it's not like the stock mark is way out there. It appears to be close the edge. Something doesn't add up here. Perhaps it's not as close as it should be an this contributes to the leak issue? Would be curious to see those manifolds attached to the heads with a camera scope in there. They look like they will be restrictive without a port matching job.

 

[Upshifter]

My BD manis showed up tonight.
Ordered from Stage3 on 5/12.

Now the work begins.
Never done this before so before I start, can you Manifold Masterminds take a look at some of the surface imperfections and let me know if you think it’s an issue?

So here they are. Inside one of them on one bridge between ports there is a lot of extra material (can’t get pic in there). It’s rough and sharp, but probably only impedes the diameter 1% -2%. I’m wondering if I should try to sand it down or don’t bother?

Next the driver side end has what looks like extra coating material dried on. You can feel the protrusion.
Problem?
Sand down or send back?

Finally there are some gouges that look only coating-deep.

What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!


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[Scott91370]

I would honestly contact Stage3 to see what they say about it.

I saythe mating surface needs to be as smooth as possible and I'm surprised they were sent out like that.

 

[Upshifter]

Appreciate that, I’ll try that.
I get the sense the fitment on these trucks is overly picky, so I’m being so as well. Possibly unnecessarily so. We’ll see.

 

[DesertChuck]

Gouges on the mating surface could end up being an exhaust leak and thinking about doing the exhaust manifolds a second time make me sick.

Thanks for this!! My BD manis are said to be arriving next week.

I have to be honest I’m a little conflicted, since the work begins when they arrive.

Question for folks having done manis themselves:

I’m not a welder and I don’t have one.

Is it at all realistic to expect I can DIY with a simple stud extractor and a torch?

Or do I need to just go in assuming I’ll have at least 1 stud snap off flush with the head?

For what it’s worth, my trucks only ever lived in Colorado so hoping that helps. 60k miles.

When I did mine the studs closest to the firewall was already broken, flush with the head on both heads. Before starting I sprayed pb blaster on every nut and bolt. By the time I got to removing the broken studs, I had sprayed them every time I thought about them every day. The job took me 4 days but was only really a day and a half of work as I took my time and I was getting rained out a couple days. I used an ez out I got from autozone. The driver side was nerve racking as the stud creeked, cracked and was hard to turn. I'm hoping the crp manis are worth the extra $$ I don't want to do it again (at least the bd diesels are cheaper!).

 

[mass-hole]

Gouges on the mating surface could end up being an exhaust leak and thinking about doing the exhaust manifolds a second time make me sick.

When I did mine the studs closest to the firewall was already broken, flush with the head on both heads. Before starting I sprayed pb blaster on every nut and bolt. By the time I got to removing the broken studs, I had sprayed them every time I thought about them every day. The job took me 4 days but was only really a day and a half of work as I took my time and I was getting rained out a couple days. I used an ez out I got from autozone. The driver side was nerve racking as the stud creeked, cracked and was hard to turn. I'm hoping the crp manis are worth the extra $$ I don't want to do it again (at least the bd diesels are cheaper!).

My CRP's ended up sagging(I say sagging because I don't think they actually warped, I think they sag under the weight of the turbo and heat) after 1.5 years. It did not break the studs though like the OEM manifold though.

I only replaced the one side and I used ARP studs.

 

[Blown F-150]

Based on the latest changes from Ford, this is my opinion.

OEM > BD Diesel > CRP


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[JaBoogedy]

Based on the latest changes from Ford, this is my opinion.

OEM > BD Diesel > CRP


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you’re saying the OEM manifolds aren’t worth changing anymore? I have a ‘19.