2017 ram 2500 broken manifold bolts

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diymirage

diymirage

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My truck developed a little exhaust leak when cold, and sure enough, it sheared of a few exhaust manifold bolts on the passenger side

Just to confirm with you guys...this totally justifies putting long tube headers on, right?
 
I`d be more concerned about getting the broken bolts out first.
I`d leave it stock, too much hassle to reconfigure exhaust system with cats and all.
You`ll probably break a few on the other side too.
If you want headers, you do you.:thumbsup:
 
mopar head said:
I`d be more concerned about getting the broken bolts out first.
I`d leave it stock, too much hassle to reconfigure exhaust system with cats and all.
You`ll probably break a few on the other side too.
If you want headers, you do you.:thumbsup:
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Honestly, I'm letting the shop handle this one, but you are correct, I'm sure there will be more broken bolts before it's done

I'm looking at a set of ARH long tube headers with "high flow" cats and a nicer Y pipe

So hopefully the headers won't have the warpage issues stock manifolds have, the Y pipe should be less restrictive then the stocker and the cats should make it play nicely with the O2 sensors

I hope
 

Dodge Ram 2009-Present: Exhaust Manifold Bolt Issue​

Broken exhaust manifolds bolts have become a common problem on 4th generation Dodge Rams. Dodge has improved on the bolts design, and owners are suggested to repair the problem before the bolts break. Otherwise, expensive bolt extraction and thread repair may be needed.

By Weston Chadwick - July 22, 2015
Contributors: TrueDogman
This article applies to the 4th Generation Dodge Ram (2009-Present).
Owners wondering whether their Ram has broken exhaust manifold bolts will most likely notice the accompanied ticking sound coming from the exhaust manifold(s). The noise comes from exhaust gases leaking past the manifold gasket, and if it becomes bad enough, can lead to lowered engine performance and fuel economy. The exhaust manifold bolts are subjected to high amounts of heat while the engine is running, particularly the rear cylinders. Expansion and contraction during heat cycles is not equal between the bolts, manifolds, and cylinder head, which is believed to be the primary reason for failure.
Owners are left paying the bill or repairing the problem themselves if their truck is out of warranty. The 2009 model years trucks carry an unlimited powertrain warranty, which covers the issue. Owners with 2010 and newer trucks typically have warranties that run out after 5 years/100,000 miles. The repair can be from $200 to $400 or more depending on whether the manifold and gaskets are also replaced. Dodge now installs new stainless steel bolts/studs (part number 6509544AA), which has proven somewhat successful permanently fixing the problem. Some owners still post about their second trip to the dealer for the same fix.
 
A56 said:

Dodge Ram 2009-Present: Exhaust Manifold Bolt Issue​

Broken exhaust manifolds bolts have become a common problem on 4th generation Dodge Rams. Dodge has improved on the bolts design, and owners are suggested to repair the problem before the bolts break. Otherwise, expensive bolt extraction and thread repair may be needed.

By Weston Chadwick - July 22, 2015
Contributors: TrueDogman
This article applies to the 4th Generation Dodge Ram (2009-Present).
Owners wondering whether their Ram has broken exhaust manifold bolts will most likely notice the accompanied ticking sound coming from the exhaust manifold(s). The noise comes from exhaust gases leaking past the manifold gasket, and if it becomes bad enough, can lead to lowered engine performance and fuel economy. The exhaust manifold bolts are subjected to high amounts of heat while the engine is running, particularly the rear cylinders. Expansion and contraction during heat cycles is not equal between the bolts, manifolds, and cylinder head, which is believed to be the primary reason for failure.
Owners are left paying the bill or repairing the problem themselves if their truck is out of warranty. The 2009 model years trucks carry an unlimited powertrain warranty, which covers the issue. Owners with 2010 and newer trucks typically have warranties that run out after 5 years/100,000 miles. The repair can be from $200 to $400 or more depending on whether the manifold and gaskets are also replaced. Dodge now installs new stainless steel bolts/studs (part number 6509544AA), which has proven somewhat successful permanently fixing the problem. Some owners still post about their second trip to the dealer for the same fix.
Click to expand...
That must be an old article, my dealer (who will not be getting to do this job) qouted me 470 dollars to R&R one manifold...and that's just labor
 
diymirage said:
That must be an old article, my dealer (who will not be getting to do this job) qouted me 470 dollars to R&R one manifold...and that's just labor
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Well it's written 2015 and most labor rates now are north of $125/hr
 
How thick are the flanges on those headers?
 
Have these people just started building cars? The recalls are ridiculous, my 05 Ram had a recall on the rear pinion nut because they didn't put locktite on the nut. Then they had timing chain issues, exhaust manifold bolts breaking and of course the Hemi's with the no lubrication to the roller lifters at idle. When ever I see a cop car at a crime scene idling away, I see the next victim for a cam change and lifter problems. The Rams are at the border probably facing the same problem.
 
I'm on the 4th set of bolts on my driver side and 3rd set on my passenger side. The passenger side was warped so bad, the downpipe was about 1/2" out of position when I put it all back together.

Supposedly if you take your warped manifolds and have them machined flat, then reinstall them, it is very rare for the issue to come back. Because they don't continue to warp I guess. I've never had enough time for my truck to be out of service long enough to have them machined.

I bought a new set of manifolds and bolts and gaskets last time ($300 for everything) and plan to have my old ones machined flat for when the new ones warped and snap the bolts. The good news is I've done this enough, it's a quick job now.
 
Had mine done three times on my 2015 5.7 Hemi Ram. The third time the exhaust manifold was warped because the studs were broken too long and they replaced the manifold under warranty because I had a lifetime powertrain warranty. The first two times it cost me around $300. Dodge dealers have special tools developed to make it a quick repair. See if you can get your dealer to say it is a warped manifold and maybe you can get it done for free...
 
A friend had broken exhaust studs on his 2014 Ram 1500. He installed long tube headers, Y-Pipe, cats etc. all the way back. That was probably, at least 6 years ago, & never had the problem again. Not cheap, but MAN, did it pep that truck up a lot.
 
HemiSSDart said:
Had mine done three times on my 2015 5.7 Hemi Ram. The third time the exhaust manifold was warped because the studs were broken too long and they replaced the manifold under warranty because I had a lifetime powertrain warranty. The first two times it cost me around $300. Dodge dealers have special tools developed to make it a quick repair. See if you can get your dealer to say it is a warped manifold and maybe you can get it done for free...
Click to expand...
Its a 2017 with 98k on it...no warranty left on it


@72Duster440 is yours a 1500 or a 2500?
 
72Duster440 said:
Mines a 2015 1500 with 98k on it.
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From what I understand, the manifolds are the same, but the 2500 sits on a beefier frame

Making it harder to do the job and making aftermarket headers designed to fit the 1500 not fit the 2500
 
Yours is the 6.4? I haven't heard as many issue with them have this problem, but obviously it happens.

The access on the half ton isn't bad. I go through the wheel well. About 2 hours for the driver side and slightly less for the passenger.
 
No, mine is a 5.7

I wish it was a 6.4...with the weight of the truck, she's a little sluggish

My wife has the same engine in her grocery getter and that thing goes like scalded dog
 
I've got a buddy with a newer Power Wagon. Bad *** truck, but he says he averages about 11 mpg, around town its closer to 8.

I'll stick with my 5.7 for now, although it needs more power in the 3500rpm range. I tow my camper a TON with mine, and it really struggles getting up to highway speeds.
 
Couple things, the stainless bolts never "fixed" the problem (though often held long enough to make it out of warranty. The article above mentioned unlimited power train warranty - nope; unless you are the original owner of the vehicle, when they offered the "lifetime warranty," most people didn't realize the lifetime portion of it went away as soon as the name on the title changed. There has been, of course other powertrain warranties, but the lifetime went away many years ago. Having done more of these than I care to count, I made a suggestion a long time ago, to install a flex joint in the Y pipe. This would help tremendously with the expansion / contraction issue. The Y pipe also expands away from each end and compounds the tension put on the rear bolts. Anyways kudos to those that are still getting help from dealers on these repairs though the vehicle may not be under warranty, that is something to be appreciated.
 
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