I’ve got a 2020 3.5L and had an exhaust leak on the passenger side front cylinder for a couple of years. I figured it was a warped manifold, but the dealer couldn’t find anything wrong after two visits while it was still under warranty. Now that the warranty’s up, I decided to fix it myself.
Passenger side was a nightmare. Had to drain the coolant, pull the starter, unbolt the AC compressor, and take off the belt. Getting the oil and coolant lines off was the worst part… took about 2.5 hours just for that. Once that was done, getting the turbo and manifold out was actually easy. No seized bolts—everything came off clean. The gasket definitely had blow-by.
The next pain was getting the turbo studs out for the exhaust adapter. Ended up buying a stud extractor, clamped the turbo in a vise, and finally got them out. Installing the Full Race adapter was simple enough.
The BD diesel manifold studs wouldn’t thread into the head at first. I was worried about cross-threading, so I chucked each stud into a drill and chamfered the threads to help them start. Once that was done, everything went on fine, and assembly went smoother from there.
Took about 10 hours total for just the passenger side. I’m not a beginner but I don’t work on cars for a living—definitely a tough job. No leaks so far and the exhaust chirp is finally gone. Driver’s side is supposed to be easier… that’s next weekend’s project.
Remy said:
That setup looks really nice. Thanks for the breakdown… I’d probably throw my purse at it too.
Anyone know if you can just flush and refill the transmission fluid on a 2014 F150 XLT 3.5 Ecoboost or if it needs to be pressurized and done at a shop?
@Flynn
I used a big syringe-style extractor with a short hose to pull mine out. Checked the dipstick level before I started and put the same amount back in. Only managed to swap out 8 quarts even though it holds 13. Might just need to do it a few times. Mine’s a 2020 though.
Mai said:
Are you running stock coolant lines or did you upgrade to Full Race lines? If you’re using stock, did you swap out the o-ring fittings?
I’m sticking with the stock lines. Didn’t change any o-rings. The 2020 models have different lines than the older ones, and BD Diesel didn’t think they needed to be swapped.
@Micah
The jiffy style fittings are a known weak point. The lines themselves hold up fine, but those o-rings like to leak over time. When I did my turbos, it was recommended to swap those fittings out, just passing along the advice.
Props to you, man… like the other guy said, that’s badass. I had a hard enough time just doing the turbo adapters. Hope I don’t have to dig into mine that deep.
Brooke said:
Props to you, man… like the other guy said, that’s badass. I had a hard enough time just doing the turbo adapters. Hope I don’t have to dig into mine that deep.
If you’ve got a first gen, that rear exhaust bolt always snaps.
@Ali
Mine was leaking at the front of the manifold, but no broken bolts. Haven’t seen anyone else do the manifolds on the newer 2019-2020 models. No videos or posts out there on it either.
Tilden said:
I’m seriously impressed you did all that without pulling the cab.
It wasn’t as bad as people say. There’s actually a decent amount of space. The rear coolant line that everyone complains about was probably the easiest part. The bolts weren’t the hard part—it was getting the lines off without binding them up. Only line I fully removed was the oil feed line. Left the others attached to the turbo and pulled the whole turbo out with the lines still on. The instructions didn’t mention it, but I had to unbolt the starter and swing it out of the way.
