Mark III Exhaust Manifold

[mlj427]

They are expensive but are supposed to be stronger then original. This is Mark II enterprises.
http://www.parts123.com they are cheaper there. Not sure on shipping. This is on eBay.

[Wixomhead]

Thanks @mlj427. I bought a pair of 462 heads from MKII ten years ago, sprayed with VHT paint. First class all the way. Question: What other choices do I have, really? Used or weld. NOTE: If I go that route - WHEN it breaks again I can unbolt that thing in :30 minutes.

@Action: Yeah, the bolt was still in the head in that pic. No worries, I used an engine hoist to very slowly and carefully to lift the head off the 50 year old head gasket being careful not to gouge the HVAC or anything else for that matter. Again I shake my head, shop manual procedure is three steps to remove exh manifold. Here I am rummaging around below my barn to locate, drag up, assemble my harbor freight engine hoist.

Heads sent to local garage for help with removal of remaining exh manifold bolts. Without an oxy/acetylene torch I wasn't going to invest any more time trying.

[Wixomhead]

@action - LOL I just now realized why you used so many exclamation points in your note about bolt still in head lol. I was able to extract the head without binding the bolt/damaging the threads...tilting the motor by jacking up under the pan/driver side mount still attached gave me clearance. Probably idn't do my motor mount any favors, though. One crisis at a time.

[action]

Make a screen saver of the bolt in the head and head off the engine. OK that may be a krewl reminder.

As to the shop manual. Understand who that book was written for. It was written for a dealership technician that is doing repairs on a vehicle in warranty or shortly out of warranty.
As nice as these cars are, designers and engineering didn't create these new cars with many decades of use. The un-official standard of the ear was 100,000 miles and ten years.
With that in mind, removing the exhaust manifold should be done in 3 steps.

As to re-using the old in some manner shape or form, do do it! The original design was OK. That new design available from Mark II is a variation of a later truck 460. The company realized there was an issue with sustained exhaust heat over long periods of time. That showed up first in trucks that were used in business and hauled heavy loads in the normal course of use. Lincolns didn't really see that kind of service. But over the long haul with many het up and cool down cycles the smoother design cracked. Do not reuse.

As to Mark II. Their shipping is different if you get a quote before buying versus just placing an order. On Ebay they have the shipping listed. On their website they do not. If you place an order on the website always ask for shipping before you finalize the order. Or just do it on ebay.

Action

[Wixomhead]

Man this is taking a long time. Probably because I went into this project thinking I could just remove the pass side manifold - did not anticipate pulling most of the engine off and out. Sourcing new exh flange studs. Ordering valve grinding stuff. Waited too long to order gasket set. Etc.

Went with new D4 pass side manifold casting from Mark II. $295+$50 or so shipping. Painted it black with VHT. Will cure it on the car (not the kitchen oven). Cleaned up, painted and YES - saving myself money I don't want to spend today, I RE-USED driver side manifold. but after this, it will be a piece of cake to R&R in case it fails on me. Checked mating surfaces best I could with straight edge - (alum carpenter level) - didn't leak before, don't expect it to leak now. Cursed myself for selling pair of police interceptor manifolds a few years back

Paid $150 for local garage to remove / chase threads several broken exh manifold bolts from head. Disassembled both heads, cleaned / polished valves, checked guides (only a 1 or 2 had very, VERY slight wiggle). Ground valves to seats manually using paste and suction cups. Painted everything old ford blue.

Cleaned / block sanded head and deck surfaces. Used 3m spray adhesive sparingly on deck to hold gaskets in place while I leaned over the fender to place heads on block. Damn those are heavy, especially with exh manifold installed (another 12 pounds).

NOTE: For the next guy - I forgot I had this $35 Harbor Freight serpentine belt/idler pulley removal tool laying around. With it's 3/8" drive head, I was able to fit a 3/4" standard height socket to torque down the last lower cyl head bolt (I used torque wrench for all others and approximated same amount of force for the last bolt using this method. Hope this saves someone headache down the road.

[action]

Thanks for the posts.

At some point in the future this may be an adventure that I will be taking on my 70.
Except I won't be painting the spark plugs

Action

[Wixomhead]

OK. Car all back together and runs like it should. Thanks for all the help. 2 things left to do:

1. Go to the AC shop to have them bring the R12 back on line - after isolating the sys / removing the compressor it burped a LOT of oil up and out all over the garage floor AFTER I carefully took it out and set it down, level. What a mess.

2. The original pass side exh manifold pre heater/"shield" that feeds the bottom of the air cleaner snout 2" flex tube ... it doesn't fit over the newer, ribbed/reinforced 1975+ exh manifold design. Anyone have any knowledge on this, appears I need to cut/trim this (rare) part and don't wan't to do that unless necessary ... ?

wh