I was replacing my timing chain cover gasket and noticed that the front passenger side intake bolt was sticking up above the body of the manifold itself. I grabbed it with my fingers and pulled the bolt out of the hole. So I decided to test the driver side bolt. It was intake until I tried to unscrew it and it broke off. At this point I decided to initiate a long over do plenum gasket job.

Here’s what I discovered after I got the plenum off?

Is this normal for age of truck?





What is this aluminum colored material?

Why do you think passenger side bolt was already broke?


Is traditional screw extractors adequate for getting these broken bolts out? If not, what technique has been deployed with success?


For the record, I’m the original owner and never had the intake off before today.

Thanks to all the diligent posters on the forum about how to do this.

Lastly, if this qualifies as more “plenum fodder” I will delete and go repost under the End All Sticky. For the record, I ground thru a lot of that, but didn’t see any answers.

 

For that busted stud I would suggest cleaning it with a wire brush until you can lock up a couple of nuts around it to unscrew.
Some guys just weld a nut on it and unscrew, although heat does help.

 

What year truck and what engine do you have?

 

The gasket blowing out is typical. The bolts are too long, and as the gasket ages, it is no long clamped properly, so, it escapes. Trim the bolts, (or get shorter ones) use a good quality gasket, and you are set.

The stuff around the bolts is from dissimilar metals. Steel and aluminum do strange things when they are together for a lotta years.

For the broken bolts, clean around them REALLY well, especially down where they go into the head, hit 'em with some chemicals. (PB Blaster works great) Grab 'em with a pair of vice grips, and wiggle them back and forth, while tapping on the top of the bolt with a hammer. (the vibration helps the chemicals penetrate, and loosen the crab holding them in place.)

 

Brilliant! However, the left one may not have enough thread left for two nuts and I broke the right one off even more trying twist out with vice grips.

 

‘98 5.9 Its in my signature

 

I have read a lot and watched a lot of video about plenum repair. Looks like consensus has migrated from the “dissimilar metals” theory and we are pointing at long bolts as cause of the problem. Did Chrysler/Mopar ever make fasteners the proper length? Or are people getting new fasteners from hardware stores?

I just ordered the Hughes kit. The cost is about the same and saves me the time of trimming those fasteners. For educational purposes, are people cutting those off with a hack saw or is a finer blade required for that?

I got all the gasket remnants away from the studs and Ive started the PB Blaster evolution. I’m gonna let them soak a while. I twisted right one off even more with vice grips yesterday. I’m probably down to using a screw extractor on that one. Ugh!

 

Have a welder? Weld a nut to the stud

 

I do. Torxhead also recommended that. I’m considering that. Really good idea, except I twisted the right one off down low trying to vice grip it outta there yesterday.

 

Only other option is heat. Then try turning it back and forth.
​​​​​​
​​