Hello all. I am back again and have a big problem on my 07 Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel. I was on a trip back home (dragging a trailer with a big farm tractor) to West Texas from Houston and about 200 miles from home there was a big POP and engine faltered and then recovered. The exhaust Manifold apparently popped out some bolts and exhaust was pouring from under the hood. It eventually set the oil soaked insulation on fire under the cowling but was able to put it out. Then i noticed i had a complete loss of power to accelerate and engine would respond slowly to pushing the accelerator down. It would run ok on flat ground but would not pull up hill very well, speed would drop down to 40 miles MPH. After the uphill, it would very slowly regain speed. Dark black smoke was pouring from exhaust and temp increased just above the midpoint. I still do not have a clue as to what happened.


Anyway, i made the decision to replace the manifold and tore down that Ram 6.7 because of the manifold leak. I WAS gonna buy a new truck until the price tag said $90K! That killed it for me and i will just spend whatever it takes to get the 07 up to date.

I removed all the stuff that stood in the way of removing the exhaust manifold and i can tell you it was a nightmare! There were 4 bolts on the very last 2 cylinders that are broken off flush with the head. Gonna be hard getting the fragments out.

I am now looking at replacing that stock manifold with the aftermarket 2 piece one. It appears appealing. But i do have some questions that prevent me from going forth. I need to get the pros and cons of the experts that frequent this forum. It is better to hear it from those that have been there and done that, than to leap over the ledge without knowing whats below.

So that being said, here are my questions:

1) Has anyone installed the 2 piece manifold before and was it the best choice?

2) Which bolts should i use to install that 2 piece manifold? Seems there are 2 choices. The short ones that do NOT use those tube spacers and the long ones that do use the tubes. Which ones are the best.

3) Am i supposed to re install that heat shield? That thing is a pita and appears to be redundant.

4) I am replacing every water hose on this engine but can NOT find a good source for ALL the hoses, any ideas?

5) I am replacing the entire turbo system, replacing all the rubber boots and am gonna leave off that nasty egr thingy.

Thanks so much. BTW, This engine has 330K miles on it and still strong.