Time to take off old exhaust manifolds

[72f250cs]

My 72 F250 Camper Special has some very leaky manifolds, all the gasket coverings are burned off and it is very loud. I have some very powerfull "Corrosion X", which is an industrial brand that should be better than liquid wrench, etc. Since my bolts and studs are in the heads, what shoud I watch out for? I don't want to break these bad boys off. Any help would be appreicated.

[sideoilerfe]

Heat and patience! Alot of guys use a torch and heat the ear of the head until it turns orange, then back out the bolt a little bit at a time. You only have a couple of seconds as soon as it turns orange because the bolt will soon heat up and also expand. Heat, back out a little and wait. Any good exhaust shop can do it, it's just finding the ones with experienced techs that are familiar with FE engines to execute the process.

The first time I did it without heat, I broke 4 bolts. PITA!!! Soak those bolts for a while before you start and, good luck.

And welcome to the site.

[td]

72f250cs,

its a great idea to soak the bolts for a few days, spray'em every time you get a chance for 2-3 days before you try to remove'em, ofcourse not driving it in the mean time. ive used this approach every time i remove manifolds and have had real good luck with it. goodluck!!!

[ezernut9mm]

i sprayed mine every day for two weeks. the bottom bolts almost came out by themselves-it's top ones that were a pita. i still broke one off. got the other three easy enough. i dread doing the drivers side.