Exhaust leak...broken bolt on header?
 

I brought my truck to the exhaust shop today to get him to locate/fix a leak.
I went to pick it up just now and he told me one of the bolts on the header is broken and that's where it's leaking. He said he couldn't fix it. Is this not a fixable issue? Do I just have to live with this annoying leak forever?

you should be able to drill it out and remove it. there is a kit for removing bolts with the heads stripped or broken off.

There's actually enough room to get in there with a drill and drill a bolt out???
I'm really not trying to take out the motor for an exhaust leak. He told me it's one of the last bolts all the way to the back by the firewall.

not sure if there enough room to get a drill in there. maybe a air powered die grinder would fit. you could fix a drill bit onto that i suppose.

takes skill,patience and , mostly luck.
you may need to pull the exhaust manifold to do it if its flush with the outside of of the manifold. you can get it with vice grips,and luck!.its very hard to actually drill a hole in a bolt straight enuf. if you hit the aluminum block your troubles will get bigger.
if you're not good at it its time to ask a real parts store if they know of a real mechanic who does special odd jobs well. hard to find...

of course a muffler shop is supposed to have this skill!!

My thoughts as well! And generally this guy is top notch! My dad seems to think we'll have to pull the whole damn manifold off to do it. :(
Guess we'll look at it over the weekend and see.

Yes, Skill and patience is the key!

I've managed a few muffler shops over my career...

Back in the 80's, I had mechanics that could custom bend duals for anything, along with removing broken studs from manifolds(sometimes I had to jump in with the torch and blow them out, while leaving all the threads)..

The muffler shops I managed in the 80's advertised exhaust, suspension and brakes, however I had my mechanics changing engines and transmissions + performing many other "unadvertised" repairs successfully .

TIMES HAVE CHANGED!

Within the last decade, I managed a couple different muffler shops,
Hardly NO mechanical ability at all! The muffler shops are becoming extinct, so the owners can NOT offer top pay for good quality help! Mostly backyard mechanics or kids out of trade school, earning minimum wage..

Try fixing yourself, if not, take it to a "Full service auto repair center"
GL

The reason no one wants to remove broken bolts in the head from the manifold is the fact that the bolts are steel and the head is aluminum. I have the same issue and I have figured that the only way to be sure you don't screw up a head is to remove the head and drill it out.

I have decided that I will live with mine unless it makes to much noise and I can't stand the noise anymore.

The problem is you're only going to be ab;e to "live with it" for so long. After some time, the exhaust is going to blow the gasket out more and more and the tiny leak you have now is going to be a very big leak later.

I know that issue, but I can deal with that over pulling the head which has dual overhead cams

i have a new shorty header comming to me. I hope this doesnt happen when i go to put it in..

It wouldn't hurt to spray some good quality, penetrating oil on the bolts about a half hour before starting the job.

^ i was thinking the same thing.

Anytime you "break a bolt loose", it should start moving with less resistance... Steel bolts in aluminum can cause a problem, however if you feel the same resistance after you break it loose, start "rocking" the bolt,(turn it back in a bit, then out, then in, then out a little more, then back in, then out a little more, then in, then out a little more...etc...using lots of penetrants along the way... I use PB BLASTER) until you feel the bolt "free" enough to back it all the way out with little resistance.. Patience is the key! Take your time getting those bolts out to save much more time & money extracting them.
GL

Mine was broke off before, and the only way I found out was putting a header in.

drill the bolt on center all the way through, with a bit smaller than the bolt, then soak with pb blaster and use an extractor to remove. If it still wont come out, drill it the size of the bolt, then tap and helicoil.

you would have thought by now that there would be a better option then putting a steel bolt in an aluminum head. maybe some anti sieze on there? i guess they never suspected people to remove the manifold.

SKEETER , did you see a significant power gain with the header on?

There is, and always has been: Studs & Nuts... That way, there is no need to remove the steel threads from the aluminum heads.

ARP makes a stainless steel stud & nut kit.

I used a stock replacement because I already had a cat-back exhaust. The long tubes make more power, but I didn't notice any substance increase in the seat of my pants. All of my mods as a whole made my 3.5L come alive.

so those stubs never break huh?,like the steel bolts.