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There has been plenty of buzz about hardware issues with the dorman bellowed up-pipes and while I hadn't noticed an issue I decided to look into it while my engine was out.
Here I'll give my findings and the fix.
First I removed the dorman supplied bolts from my collector. I used a bit of heat on the collector when removing to make sure I wouldn't snap a bolt... (note: ALWAYS do this no matter what bolts you have in it)
Next I compared the 1 year old dorman bolts to my new ford oem bolts. In every way the LOOK like the exact same bolts. Next I put one of the dorman bolts in my vice and twisted the head off with a long handle ratchet. Yep it broke but not any easier than expected measured with the un scientific method of my 30 years of turning wrenches feel'o'meter.
So, WHY are so many people having problems?
Next I sprayed some wd-40 in the holes and ran the new bolts in till they bottomed and ran em out. I repeated a dozen times and am certain all the rust was worked out and the bolts were fully bottomed in the holes and tightened down.
Next I checked and the flange from the up-pipe was able to easily slide between the bolt head and the collector!
Bingo! Even the ford bolts are too long for the dorman flange and dorman didn't catch it!
The thickness of the gasket was JUST enough to seal the gap but if the holes in the collector were a few thousandths shallower OR you has a bit of rust in the hole they would leak or break if you tried to get em tight!!!
The fix it obvious, I clamped the heads of the new (expensive) ford bolts in the vice and ground off 1/4" from each one. Now they will tighten down enough to actually seal without bottoming and twisting off.
Most likely the dorman bolts will be fine if ground the same way OR if you choose you can get ford bolts and grind em OR get 1/4" shorter bolts from fastenall or another source.
PS The dorman supplied manifold to up-pipe bolts were rusted and all four DID twist off fairly easily tho those are FAR less critical and a total non issue to replace if they fail since they don't thread into anything except their nut.
I have oem ford to replace them also.
PPS My dormans are now 1 year old and have 10,000 miles on them, of which 3,000 was towing at 30,000 lbs gross at usually 78 mph. They still look brand new. No rust at all. They are surely stainless and seem to be very well made. A great bargain even with the hardware issue!
Here I'll give my findings and the fix.
First I removed the dorman supplied bolts from my collector. I used a bit of heat on the collector when removing to make sure I wouldn't snap a bolt... (note: ALWAYS do this no matter what bolts you have in it)
Next I compared the 1 year old dorman bolts to my new ford oem bolts. In every way the LOOK like the exact same bolts. Next I put one of the dorman bolts in my vice and twisted the head off with a long handle ratchet. Yep it broke but not any easier than expected measured with the un scientific method of my 30 years of turning wrenches feel'o'meter.
So, WHY are so many people having problems?
Next I sprayed some wd-40 in the holes and ran the new bolts in till they bottomed and ran em out. I repeated a dozen times and am certain all the rust was worked out and the bolts were fully bottomed in the holes and tightened down.
Next I checked and the flange from the up-pipe was able to easily slide between the bolt head and the collector!
Bingo! Even the ford bolts are too long for the dorman flange and dorman didn't catch it!
The thickness of the gasket was JUST enough to seal the gap but if the holes in the collector were a few thousandths shallower OR you has a bit of rust in the hole they would leak or break if you tried to get em tight!!!
The fix it obvious, I clamped the heads of the new (expensive) ford bolts in the vice and ground off 1/4" from each one. Now they will tighten down enough to actually seal without bottoming and twisting off.
Most likely the dorman bolts will be fine if ground the same way OR if you choose you can get ford bolts and grind em OR get 1/4" shorter bolts from fastenall or another source.
PS The dorman supplied manifold to up-pipe bolts were rusted and all four DID twist off fairly easily tho those are FAR less critical and a total non issue to replace if they fail since they don't thread into anything except their nut.
I have oem ford to replace them also.
PPS My dormans are now 1 year old and have 10,000 miles on them, of which 3,000 was towing at 30,000 lbs gross at usually 78 mph. They still look brand new. No rust at all. They are surely stainless and seem to be very well made. A great bargain even with the hardware issue!
