Forum Discussion

super_camper's avatar
super_camper
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013

Engine noise and broken exhaust bolt (updated with pics)

My Jayco class c is on a 2006 E450 with 60,000 miles. On the last two trips I noticed a new noise. It's really just louder engine noise and is linked with the engine RPM. Funny thing is it only occurs under load and only for the first few times a load is added after starting. After this time it's gone until the next start.

I pulled the doghouse to look at the exhaust and found that one bolt on the passengers side (2nd from the back) is missing, seems to have broken off. I've read about this problem with older Fords but not such much with the 2006 or later.

Now for my questions:
Would one missing bolt cause this type of noise?
Whats involved with repairing this? (It will go to a garage for the repair)
Class C
  • tanman32225's avatar
    tanman32225
    Explorer
    Jun 22, 2013
    Yes it will cause the noise. The reason it goes away is the metal both manifold and head heating up and expanding to fill the small gap between the metals.

    A fix is the removal of the manifold and hopefully the bolt left the shaft extending beyond the manifold. If the bolt is exposed it makes removal much easier, If not then it has to be drilled out and either tapped or extracted. Not an easy job on the vehicle but sometimes can be done. If there is no room to work on the bolt to be extracted by drilling then the head has to be removed.

    In either case unless you do it yourself, it won't be real cheap. Several hundred dollars to a grand is my guess at 120$ per hour depending on the solution to remove and replace the bolt.

    An other point I forgot is the type of motor. Since you did not mention if you have a V10 or Diesel it will make a difference on fixing it. The V10 has aluminum heads and the diesel cast iron. Both has their pros and cons.

About Motorhome Group

38,708 PostsLatest Activity: Mar 05, 2025