Why did they do that?

[37chief]

Be advised, not tractor related! I have a 65 Ford F100. All the freeze plugs need to be replaced, not a job I like doing, but it needs to be done. The freeze plugs are under the exhaust manifold. First problem is, all the manifold bolts have lock tabs. The upper ones are accessible, can't even see the lower ones. I have never seen this done in all my wrench turning years. The problem with manifold bolts is: they all come out hard, and never loosen. May end up pulling the motor. Stan

 

[Steve in VA]

Be advised, not tractor related! I have a 65 Ford F100. All the freeze plugs need to be replaced, not a job I like doing, but it needs to be done. The freeze plugs are under the exhaust manifold. First problem is, all the manifold bolts have lock tabs. The upper ones are accessible, can't even see the lower ones. I have never seen this done in all my wrench turning years. The problem with manifold bolts is: they all come out hard, and never loosen. May end up pulling the motor. Stan

I wish you good luck. My experience w/ old Land Rovers is that if i got that far in, I replaced the bolts w/ studs and brass nuts. Just something to think about.

 

[NDIHC]

Locking tabs on exhaust manifolds were pretty much the norm from way back on into the 80s. I'm guessing maybe an FE engine? I always hated working on FE engines. I think if it were mine I'd bite the bullet and pull the engine. That's assuming it was a pickup I intended to keep and drive. If I was just looking to sell it, I'd leave it as is and let the new owner worry about it, with full disclosure of the repairs needed. Best of luck on your project.

 

[560Dennis]

This comment is not going to fix your soft plugs issues .but
I had to pull the engine to get at the broken exhaust manifold studs out of the 98 f150 4.6 engine block . Just took a couple of days to do . Changed everything I could think of while it was out of there, to avoid future issues. I forgot to change the exhaust manifold then , because you never have to change one of those . Wrong,happened three years later .. Good luck with your project .

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

The 292 in my old Galaxie was known to need those nuts tightened down every time I did plugs. The 460 in my truck has the same issue.

Mike

 

[Charlie M]

You ask why did they do that. They never expected in 2026 you would be working a truck made in 1965. If that truck was around here in western NY it would have been a pile of rust by 1970 and no longer a need to work on the engine. At least you have a very simple engine to work on compared to engines of today.

 

[Gary Reif]

If it's an FE engine I can almost guarantee that about half 0f the top bolts will twist off. Might as well just pull the engine.

 

[dbNga]

The 292 in my old Galaxie was known to need those nuts tightened down every time I did plugs. The 460 in my truck has the same issue.

Mike

built in anti-seize?

 

[Tony in SD]

My high school car, a 1959 Ford Galaxy 500 with a 223 ci 6 cly had issues with the manifold bolts losening. I carried a wrench to tighten them when needed.

 

[DanielW]

I'd anticipate pulling the motor myself if you can't get at the bolts with a torch. I wouldn't even try spinning out manifold bolts that old without a lot of heat from the O/A torch first - elsewise there's a good chance they'll twist off and you'll have a much bigger extraction job on your hands.

Or if it's not a resto/display project, clean off the frost plugs the best you can with brake-clean/acetone and smear over them to the best of your ability with hardening gasket maker. Have done a few shade tree fixes of frost plugs thst way.

 

[fusion1]

How bad are they leaking
if they are seeping maybe try that K-Seal leak repair
we have used that here at my dealership works good .

 

[Destroked 450]

Is it 6 cyl or V8?
65 F-100 used 240 6cyl, 300 6 cyl or 352 V8
If FE style V8 accessing the core plugs is done under the truck, but even then with difficulty
The front plug is located under the motor mount so the mount will need to be removed and the engine jacked up as much as possible, and even then installing a new plug between the block and crossmember is a challenge in itself
Back years ago when I was turning wrenches we usually installed a bolt in rubber plug in that location until the engine was removed for other repairs
If the exhaust manifolds are not leaking do not remove them, there’s a 80% chance of breaking 1 or all of the top bolts off in the heads at which point this job has gone from a can of worms to a whole truck load

 

[jdeere562]

Lazy guys used to just drive the old soft plugs inside and install new.

 

[GChief]

I need to do the plugs on my Green Diamond 214

 

[MeanGene1]

You probably have a 352? Replacing soft plugs on any engine is a PITA, not specific to FE engines. That engine/ vehicle setup is quite easy to pull the engine from and will allow doing a nice job on the soft plugs. Removing the upper exhaust manifold bolts can be challenging but can be done with a little penetrant, a little heat and a lot of patience. The lock washers are not even an issue to remove. Also will give you that chance to freshen the torque converter seal or clutch setup. Engine compartment is big and easy to work in, the 534's in Super Duty's back then fit in there. A tip to help, the soft plug kits they sell have 1-3/4 size plugs, and you actually want 1-49/64 which are available from Dorman in brass. My 65 has a 79 F150 4x4 chassis under it with a 400, disc brakes, modern steering etc. And I happen to have 9 427's including the one in my Galaxie, with a 4000 stall converter and 5:14 gears- ever ride in a big-block car with 5:14's? It'll get your attention lol

 

[GChief]

And I happen to have 9 427's including the one in my Galaxie, with a 4000 stall converter and 5:14 gears- ever ride in a big-block car with 5:14's? It'll get your attention lol

Nice, the original 390 in my 1965 has been 445" for about 19 yrs now.

 

[used red MN]

Is it 6 cyl or V8?
65 F-100 used 240 6cyl, 300 6 cyl or 352 V8

It’s a 352, he’s been putting this job off for 5 years. Previous 2021 thread

 

[MeanGene1]

Nice, the original 390 in my 1965 has been 445" for about 19 yrs now.

Sweet- I have a Genesis block 505 with the same SCAT crank n rods

 

[37chief]

It’s a 352, he’s been putting this job off for 5 years. Previous 2021 thread

Time sure flys, I didn't remember that. Stan