ticking time bomb?
 

hey folks...got a new noise annoying the hell outta me...

theres a ticking sound coming from the engine...increases as rpms increase & goes away after about 10 mins of driving...

shes an '03 w/ only 82k miles...too young to die!

thanks all...

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Check for broken exhaust manifold bolts at the cylinder head.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

What he said... not very uncommon on these trucks. If its not a leaking manifold then it may be a lifter..... Im betting on the manifold bolt.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

yeah I tried some gunk you put in the oil to clean the lifter...no go...

so is this manifold thing a big deal?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

x2 Manifold...

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

My H2 has headers and just got a hole welded but I know they did not get the hole welded right. I am very sure weld job still left a small hole. I hear a tick. Question. How bad is this to run it like this?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

so how expensive of a job are we talking here? (assuming it IS the bolt)

asking because I told my mechanic over the phone & he gave me an "oh boy..."

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Hi orlasttoy, if the exhaust bolt is broken it depends which one and if its stuck in their and if you can get at it easy. I have taken broken exhaust bolts out in 1/2 hour or 10 hours and any where in between. A few times i had to remove the head to get at the bolt they were not hummers. It comes down to time by the hour. Sorry to screw up your day.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

thanks for the reply...I'll update with cost info (if I can afford to keep the internet :()

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

My 2004 had 2 broken manifold bolts at about 47K miles. And one of them required removing the head in order to get to it. There was no hissing noise but they noticed the broken bolt heads while replacing the power steering pump and pitman and tie rods. Luckily it was all covered by the extended warranty I purchased when I bought the truck with 34K on it. They had the truck for a week and it even paid for a rental car.
Since it was warranty I have no idea of the cost to repair.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

good point? am i causing more potential damage driving it this way? or is it just annoying?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

If its only making noise when its cold it not that big of a deal. HOWEVER start saving your pennies because its going to get worse over time. More might break off and the leak could become very problematic.

So you can continue to drive it while you save some coin to fix it if you need to. I have a small tick on start up on mine as well. Within 3 minutes its gone. So untill it gets worse it really does not bother me.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

i had 2 botls broke off my 03 H2 within the first few months of buying it in 2008.

i was still covered by a extended warranty, so they fixed it.. but honestly i wouldnt hesitate at all and do it myslef if i needed to fix broken bolts again.

just have to disconenct the exhaust
unbolt the head
get in there and get the old bolt out
put back together

ya i make it sound alot easier than it prolly is, but your not replacing any gaskets. while your at it, you can replace the bolts to some aftermarket ones that will hold up better.

if your lucky, and you have some of the bolt sticking out, you dont even need to disassemble the head and exhaust.

get some WD40, vice gripes and some muscle.

maybe a torch to heat things up a little to help break the bolt out.

chances are tho, the bolt is broken flush to the head, but never know.

as for how bad it can get...

well, assuming it is just 1 bolt right now..
eventually with the hot cold expansion, it will snap a 2nd, if it hasnt already
then add in vibration with the hot cold expansion.
by the time the 3rd bolt is broken, im sure the sound will annoy the hell out of you, and it may not go away once the gasket heats up. there will be too much of a gap between the head and the header. so you will hear more of a exchaust leak instead of the ticking sound.

worst case, you break all the bolts, and it is only held next to the manifold by the exhaust header. im sure you will notice the burning smell from all the wires cooking before there is actually a fire.. but.... again i would say that is extreme worst case.

i would also say there is a chance of warping the header, and possibly the head too if left long enough. ( i would think this would take a year or 2.. not days or months) but then again, i wouldnt even call myself a backyard mechanic.. i just fix my own stuff.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Same thing happened on my 2003 H2.A bolt broke off.Every mechanic I talked to said it wasnt a big deal and that I could still drive the truck as usual.I drove my H2 for another 10000 miles before repairing it.As mentioned the cost depends on if they have to remove the head.If they do then the cost will skyrocket.I was initially told about 1400(per head).Luckily it was just one broken bolt and they didnt need to do that.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

thanks for the replies.

its annoying the hell outta me..feels like I'm driving an old rustbucket! :)

gonna have it taken care of now...I'll update when I know

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

keep us posted on your find.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

So, it looks like 3 of the bolts are broken.

Initial estimate $1700 does NOT include however long it will take to get the broken ones out (he's guessing 4-6 hours) And that's assuming others won't break when removing (gonna replace them all)

Worst case scenario: he has to crack the head off to do it right.

She'll be in the shop until this weekend. Let's pray for a speedy recovery!

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Hi if he can get at them he will not have to remove the head and if none of the other ones bust taking them out. GOOD LUCK I HOPE IT GOES WELL!!!

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

wow.....$1700 is alot of motivation for me to do it myself.

hell.... for that amount, you can buy a whole new exhaust system and install it while you take off the old headers.......its the hardest part, but hell, since you have to take them off anyways..

chances are that he is going to come back saying he will need to take the header off for atleast 1 of the 3 bolts.
im not saying he is over charging you, but seriously, thats alot of cash for something simple.. ya it becomes harder if you have to remove the header, but the hard part is just removing the header and exhause tubes. from there you have full access to the bolt to get vice gripes on.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Grand total: $2110. (includes a new battery, spark plugs, & wires)

Luckily, he did NOT have to remove the headers.

I don't have the detailed bill in front of me...will post when I get home.

At least she's back on the road!

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Did you get dinner and a kiss first ?:giggling:

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

No, but he was gentle.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Hi i sounds high if he did not remove the head but it back on the road.:beerchug:

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

FYI...if anyone finds themselves in a similar situation:

Itemized bill:

Broken bolts in cylinder head & cracked side manifold.
Recommend changing wires & spark plugs with chaning manifold, & new battery.

R&R Exhaust Manifolds 6.5 hours @ $91 $591.50
Extract broken bolts 2.5 hours @ $91 $227.50
Manifold 1 $257.57
Manifold 1 $257.57
Gasket 2x $19.52 $39.04
Seal 2x $18.85 $37.70
Bolt 12x $2.50 $30
Stud 6x 11.50 $69
Nut 6x $2.25 $13.50
Iridium Plug 8x $12.50 $100
Tailor res wires 1 $125
Tube 1 $29.80
Battery 1 $148.76
Shop Supplies $20

PARTS $1107.94
LABOR $819
SHOP SUPPLIES $20
TAX $163.06

TOTAL $2110

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Wow ! after reading all this would all of you recommend changing the stock bolts with new ones before trouble begins. Just got 2003 27k miles and want to PM if possible. That sounds like something simple that can get really expensive

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

so, did you get new headers?

how do they preform?
anythign noticable?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

no, luckily he said he didnt hafta remove the headers to get all the bolts out

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

so im confused here....

you didnt get new headers?

what was the charge of $591 for?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Think he meant didn't have to remove the heads. ;)

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

still confuses me, as you wouldnt need to do anythign with the heads for the header bolts.. now it may sound like i have done this before, but i havent, but i know the mechanics of it in my head on how it goes.

i guess the thing i am looking at, is after all that money ( which isnt mine, so spend how you want) all i see is he got a tune up and a new battery, Wires and new exhaust manifold bolts. then there is a bunch of charges for items that looked liek new headers ( Exhaust manifolds) and gaskets and bolts.

so basiclly, (again not my money) but this looks like alot of wasted money.. more so if he just replaced items with OEM parts.
Manifold 1 $257.57
Manifold 1 $257.57
+ $591 for labor... so thats over $1100 for OEM manifolds? not including gaskets or bolts.

thats why i say it is a waste of money. for half of that, you could have gotten performance long tube headers, or stayed with the OEM manifolds and gotten a new cat back exhaust. or for a few $$$ more both the headers and exhaust.

again, its not my money, im just looking for clarification, and wondering how everything runs now.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

It is pretty confusing and really seems to be an awful lot of money for the work done. Did mine in a afternoon and must admit getting to some of the nuts and bolts undone was a pain but not impossible. I also noticed that the new bolts had a larger head, hmmmm

Ed

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Re: ticking time bomb?
 

yeah thats what i meant :)

and yes i did get new headers

sadly, someone like me who neither has the time or know-how for any of this is at the mercy of what the mechanic says..and they thrive on it :(

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

if I were to call & question all this, what would I be asking?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

i dont think his labor is off.

its just more of the direction on parts.

why were the OEM manifolds replaced?
unless something was seriously wrong, i doubt the manifolds were bad... but im not there.. so what do i know.

OEM:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Exhau...item3a6000e08f

Long tube:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OBX-H...item2eb0beedbe

shorty:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Gibso...item255baaf432


i guess i dont have anything to really give you to take to the mechanic..
im not going to say he did anything wrong. If you are satisfied with his work, and everything works good for you.. then all is good.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

"Technician comment: broken bolts in cylinder and cracked side manifold. Recommended replacing wires and spark plugs with changing manifolds."

SO 1 was cracked, but changed both while was in there.

And yeah, as long as she's not ticking anymore, I'm happy! :)

Thanks for all your input.

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Where did you get the new bolts from?

Can't you just pull the bolts out one at a time and replace them without even changing gaskets if you haven't broken any yet?

Re: ticking time bomb?
 

Got the 12 bolts (11518860) from a local GM dealer for $1.76 (fricking list price) each and if none are broke and the heads don't twist off as you are taking them out, yes you can replace them without replacing the gaskets.

Ed