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2005 jeep grand cherokee 5.7 exhaust manifolds

8.9K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Grinmaul  
#1 ·
Just picked up a 2005 jeep grand cherokee 5.7 cheap both exhaust manifolds leak A LOT and have broken bolts most appear to have not broken flush but cant tell til manifolds off. My question is how the hell do you remove the manifolds?? my dodge i was able to take inner fender out and access it lil better but not on this.... so how do you guys do it? i know its going to be a ***** no matter what dont wanna pull the heads or engine for exhaust manifolds that's just stupid!!
 
#3 ·
I can't help you with the stock manifold removal (many others can though), as I've had tubular headers of one type or another on mine for about 9 years now. I can, however, suggest something you may want to consider though.....if you decide to pull the heads. I don't know if you are aware of the "dropped valve seat" issue on the early (05-06 and a few 07's) 5.7 Hemi's. If you're inclined and have the time/$$$, you may want to consider removing the heads and have new valve seats installed. IMO, it' fairly cheap insurance compared to the price of possibly a new engine if you do drop one. Plus, you can do it on your time schedule. You may want to do a search on this forum (and the internet) on "early Hemi dropped valve seats" if you're not familiar with this issue. Some forum members here have experienced this and hopefully will chime in with their experiences. Some weren't too bad and others...real bad.

I became real paranoid and anal about this with both my early 5.7 Hemi's, mostly because we travel quite a bit and didn't want to risk being stuck somewhere and end up at the mercy of a shop I knew nothing about. Hence, I pulled both of mine apart and had all the seats (and a bunch of other stuff) replaced. The set of heads on my lowest mileage Hemi (about 83K when torn down) was, according to the head repair shop, a definite candidate based on 2 of the intake seats started spinning in their pockets when he had them only about half way cut out.....too loose a fit in the head. Now, I feel about 99% sure I won't have to worry about this issue, plus I picked up a little more power. If you do this and keep the heads stock (I didn't since they were already off), the cost should only run about $900-1400 (I paid about $1800 per vehicle with all the mods.), depending on the market you're in.. A top end gasket kit costs about $200 from RockAuto.com.

In any case, if you don't pull it down, I would highly recommend you install a cooler thermostat and lower the cooling fan start temperatures to keep the engine from getting too hot......widely thought to be the primary cause of the dropped seats. The stock thermostat is 203* and the fans don't start coming on until about 225-230 degrees. Mine now never gets hotter than about 215*, even in our hottest weather 100-106*F) with the A/C on.

Good luck on whatever you do and let us know how it goes.
 
#4 ·
Yea not my first hemi bit first hemi in a small jeep -_- already put lower tstat never had a valve seat drop only time that happens is when people overheat the fk outa them AS far as the manifolds i dont plan on getting new ones IF i can get them out of course what i do is i re surface them and grind them flat never had any re warp on me doing it this way.
 
#6 ·
FSM says to lift the engine. not looking forward to doing this myself.

REMOVAL
EXHAUST MANIFOLD
1. Disconnect negative battery cable.
2. Raise vehicle.
3. Remove exhaust pipe to manifold bolts.
4. Remove engine mount to frame fasteners (3,4).
5. Using suitable jack, raise engine enough to remove manifolds.
CAUTION: Do not damage engine harness while raising the engine.
6. Remove the engine mount (Refer to 9 - ENGINE/ENGINE MOUNTING/FRONT MOUNT - REMOVAL).
7. Remove heat shield.
8. Remove manifold bolts using sequence provided.
9. Remove manifold and gasket.
bolt sequence
8415
7326
from rear to front
 
#10 ·
I've done a couple manifold bolts on a 4.7 WK and my 5.7 WK. What worked well for me was a cheap-o 90Âş drill attachment from Harbor Freight and left hand drills. If you've got a welder handy (can be small and junky) welding a nut to the studs works great.

It sure would be nice if there was more room, but it's doable. I pulled the steering shaft out to do mine, as well as the electrical boxes and whatever other junk can be moved.
 
#11 ·
Welding the nut trick works most of the time, but a new one to me i saw on youtube showed how to use a battery to heat the stud and free it up and have a better chance of saving the threads. i have not had to try it yet but seems sound:)


I am in ontario canada, so much salt. a friend of mine does a lot of truck manifolds with broken studs, next one he does he will be trying the battery way on the trouble ones.