2012 suburban disappointment

[shoplizard]

I suppose you are right there may have been more broken studs out there that I didn't see since my expertise was mainly transmission and electrical. Most of the mechanical engine service and repair went to someone else. I do remember a few in the early 2000's, neither of my 53's with over 100,000 have any broken broken exhaust bolts, but both of them had less engine noise and few problems after I replaced the oil pickup o-ring.

 

[swathdiver]

Sellers market? Hardly. He may get $5K more for his truck, but he will pay $10-15K more to buy new.....

Didn't you make my point? Since that was written, times are a changin'!

It’s strange you say in 25 years as a GM tech that you only saw a few broken exhaust studs.

Likely because that repair is most usually done at home or at a local garage instead. Dealership wanted $2500 to replace a broken exhaust bolt on my daughter's truck. I paid a local garage $525 to replace the gasket on the passenger side manifold. None of the bolts broke but he resurfaced the exhaust flange smooth to get a good seal.

 

[Ivanhoe]

Go on social media etc and find a decent local shop with a good reputation. They would be a good second opinion especially at those crazy prices.
FYI I was quoted just approx $3300cdn for afm delete at a local shop with plenty of dod delete experience and satisfied customers ( I'm doing the delete with a family member and C$1100 of parts due to finances) Rear bolts/ studs on exhaust manifold snapped off with previous owner...
The stealership is not your friend.

 

[salisburyv]

i have an exhaust leak on my 2013 5.3l. i finally was able to get it on a lift and inspect it myself. Sure enough, there are 3 broken exhaust studs. 2 on pass side, 1 on drivers side. at the rear of the engine at the firewall. i hate hearing it, I'm OCD about the way my vehicles run and sound. But $1250 (mostly labor to repair the broken studs) is not in the budget. So i'm dealing with it till i have the funds. it is a sellers market, i have been offered $8k more than i paid for it. Granted i've made it look pretty good, but it didn't cost $8k to get there. Find a good independent shop, might be inconvenient to get there, but well worth the money.

 

[Rocket Man]

i have an exhaust leak on my 2013 5.3l. i finally was able to get it on a lift and inspect it myself. Sure enough, there are 3 broken exhaust studs. 2 on pass side, 1 on drivers side. at the rear of the engine at the firewall. i hate hearing it, I'm OCD about the way my vehicles run and sound. But $1250 (mostly labor to repair the broken studs) is not in the budget. So i'm dealing with it till i have the funds. it is a sellers market, i have been offered $8k more than i paid for it. Granted i've made it look pretty good, but it didn't cost $8k to get there. Find a good independent shop, might be inconvenient to get there, but well worth the money.

You can easily use clamps on both the passenger side ones. The rear driver side is possible but very difficult to get the clamp on. They use the threaded holes that are already in the heads. Dorman makes some, and there are other manufacturers. There was such a need for a solution for GM’s broken exhaust manifold bolts that people came up with these. Search for Dorman 917-107 and 917-108. There’s two different designs depending on the location of the broken bolts. These work really well.

 

[gooffeyguy]

You can easily use clamps on both the passenger side ones. The rear driver side is possible but very difficult to get the clamp on. They use the threaded holes that are already in the heads. Dorman makes some, and there are other manufacturers. There was such a need for a solution for GM’s broken exhaust manifold bolts that people came up with these. Search for Dorman 917-107 and 917-108. There’s two different designs depending on the location of the broken bolts. These work really well.

I noticed about 2 weeks ago that the driver's side rear-most bolt head on mine is gone. That's the only one currently. I'm tempted to buy new ARP manifold bolts/studs and proactively swap them all out, but wonder how many will break when removing them.

 

[Rocket Man]

I noticed about 2 weeks ago that the driver's side rear-most bolt head on mine is gone. That's the only one currently. I'm tempted to buy new ARP manifold bolts/studs and proactively swap them all out, but wonder how many will break when removing them.

I did that on both my trucks. None broke that weren’t already broke and missing the heads. Not saying none of yours will, but I found all of mine easy to remove.

 

[donjetman]

3 of the 4 corners of my engine have broken exh man bolts and I put bridges on them yrs ago. <$200
Exhaust Manifold clamp, back driver side – APDTY brand # 028218,
Exhaust manifold clamps, frt driver side & back pass – APDTY brand #028253

 

[gooffeyguy]

I did that on both my trucks. None broke that weren’t already broke and missing the heads. Not saying none of yours will, but I found all of mine easy to remove.

What replacement bolts did you use?

I see ARP has about 8 different selections for LS engines... Stainless steel, chrome moly with black oxide coating, 3/8" or 10mm head, 20mm or 30mm length.

 

[Rocket Man]

What replacement bolts did you use?

I see ARP has about 8 different selections for LS engines... Stainless steel, chrome moly with black oxide coating, 3/8" or 10mm head, 20mm or 30mm length.

134-1102, black oxide 6 point on the 02 and 08. They work on all LS series engines.