Hello everyone,
This is a pretty important subject clearly because of how unhappy I am with dodge. Have owned 3 rams, my brother has had 4, even my sister owns a Dakota. The issue is on the 09 1500's, there is a pretty big issue with the exhaust manifold bolts. They have a issue with breaking off either at the head of the bolt or inside the motor. This is a problem with my truck and a problem with a friends truck (same as mine). I have seen many posts on this subject not only on this forum but a few others. My truck was in for a bad shift solenoid and they said i have 4 that are broken and i can tell cause i can hear the ticking. $800 dollars to replace all of them with the new style bolts. Dodge is aware of this issue because they have come out with a new style bolt to replace it. My powertrain warranty does not cover this part on my truck so im in a bit of hot water. I called dodge corp today and talked with someone about it and they say there is no "known issue" with this, even though every dealership has received a letter about this from dodge that if its a problem replace it, if not leave it alone. I have 4 dealerships that are on board with this that they will let dodge call them and tell them how many times they have seen this issue. WHAT I NEED FROM ALL OF YOU is if this is an issue with your own vehicle or someones vehicle that you know of, i need you to post up about it on this blog. I will be forwarding this blog to the tech at dodge corp to let him see how much of a problem this is. I refuse to pay 800 dollars out of my own pocket for a part they decided to go cheap on and is breaking yet for some reason they will not put a recall out about. If i can get enough support they will put it out as a recall and they can be replaced not only for me but for everyone else. PLEASE HELP EVERYONE!!!!:smileup:
The more support for this the closer to a solution we can receive.
hello there, ive had the same problem with my 09 ram about a year ago. I remember there were 3 bolts broken. i ended up paying for labour! not very not happy to say the least..........
Just got through doing this fix this weekend. Had the same stud broken off as shown in the image above, but mine was broken clean with the head. Let me just say if you are going to attempt this yourself and have no other option but to drill the stud out, make SURE you drill directly in the center of the bolt. I center punched the bolt but didn't leave a good enough indent, so when I started drilling I ended up off center. Rather than stop and reset, I figured I'd just get it done with and TRUST ME when I say this was a terrible idea. Quick fix turned into a major headache.
I'd also recommend drilling with left handed drill bits right from the start, as this may make the use of easy outs redundant. Really it shouldn't be that bad of a job, and if you have the tools and are handy don't be scared of doing it to save some money. Just be careful and take your time. If anyone has questions about the experience feel free to PM me and I'll do my best to help out. :smileup:
Just had my 2010 at the dealer today because of the exhaust leak. Now keep in mind, I have been to the same dealership for my rear pinion nut issue and issues with chrome trim peeling. Both times I had my supercharger on. Today they called up and said the SC voids ALL warranty. Then told me it would be $90 for checking the axle seal and the broken manifold bolts. Both of which I told them were messed up. Stetler Dodge in York, PA are a bunch of crooks in my opinion. They quoted me $500 for the manifold bolts.
I know when I worked at Chevy if some crap happened like that there was a 1800 number customers always seemed to call and we ended up doing it under warranty anyway. Considering the axle seals and manifold bolts aren't the SC's fault and seems to be common issues.
Also, when I made my appointment I asked the guy if the SC is gonna affect the manifold and he said, "It shouldn't."
I called the 1-866 number on ramtrucks.com and the guy said the axle seal should have been covered. But the manifold issue is one of those things that I can't prove the supercharger didn't cause the studs to break. So therefore it is assumed that the supercharger was responsible. As long as i don't have to drill the studs, I don't really care to do it.
Yes, you will hear a noticeable "tick tick tick" when the engine is first started, coming from the side that has a broken stud. Mine came from the drivers side. They replaced the gasket, studs, and manifold which were all broken or damaged. When the engine warms up, the tick is not noticeable, since the metal has expanded. If you have the original powertrain warranty, the fix should be free. If you have an aftermarket service contract, it should only cost you the deductible. If you have no coverage of any type, expect $400-$600 depending on if they have to drill a lot of studs out, and/or replace the manifold.
My 09 Ram had the same issue at 46,000km's. When I went to my dealer i was told that its the usual HEMI tick. I replied that thisis not the HEMI tick it sounds like a exhaust manifold leak on start up followed by ticking sound for about 30 sec till it warms up. finally at 65k i walked in to dealer because i wasent going to accept this as normal. Told them it was embarrassing starting it next to a Ford or Chevy. Finally they had me leave it over night and they listened t it on cold start up and then they told me i had to broken bolts on the exhaust manifold on the passenger side. Repair done under powertrain warrenty. Now my neighbour also has 09 Ram and his was making sae noise before my truck. When I had ine repaired he was at 110k and dealer will not due anything for him. Pretty shitty service on the dealers part and Dodges part for not standing behind their product especially since they have been seeing this coming in for repairs more often now.
Bought my '09 Ram used (71k) in August 2012 and same thing as everyone else, when it got cold outside my motor starting ticking. Just 21 days outside the state required 90 day warranty. Went to deaeler after reading several forums thinking I would get a recall fix or something but no luck.They told me they found two broken bolts on exhaust manifold. Wanted $325 to replace the bolts then said "your manifold might even be warped" and would cost more. I took my truck to my mechanic and he only found one broken bolt. The dealer was gracious enough to replace the parts and I paid labor to MY mechanic, not the guys who somehow saw two broken bolts. This little episode is the only complaint I have about my Ram.
My exhaust manifold bolts were broken, it ticked loud all the time it was running, not for just the first few minutes like the normal HEMI tick
the bolts were replaced at no charge to me
Just like with the 2 intake manifold bolts that were replaced under a TSB
I just got done dealing with the exact same issue. Had bolts replaced on the passenger side at 20k miles covered under warranty and the driver side went bad 1000 miles over warranty and they were not covered. The dealer that did the work on the passenger side said they checked driver side when they did the repair but I don't believe it. Luckily the dealership I bought it from went to bat for me and got it covered. Still I had the headache of dealing with it and driving a pos rental CAR for a week. That car will never be the same btw...
I agree, this is a major problem. There is no way manifold bolts should break at 20k miles!! Could have prevented some major repair costs and headaches to their loyal owners for a few cents more...
I had the ticking on the passenger side. One dealer wouldn't repair under warranty, so I did it myself. Only one bolt broken. $14 for the bolt and manifold gasket at dealer. If doing yourself in the driveway it helps to take the wheel and fender liner off.
I now have a ticking from the driver side. I'm going to try a couple different dealers to see if anyone will repair under lifetime powertrain warranty. Truck has 159,000 miles on it now lol.
Two of mine were replaced when the recall first came out. I had under 30k miles on it when that happened. I had that and the hvac door replaced at the same time. Both were on the recall list. I wouldn't pay for it either, good luck.
I'm new to the forum and I see about a year late from this post but I too have the issue. I live in cajun country in Louisiana so there's maybe 2-3 weeks of cold. haha My truck does have that ticking sound when I start it and lasts until the truck warms up, which isn't long down here. epper:
Vrod, had that issue about two months ago, took it to sterling in Opelousas where I bout it at and it cost me $575 to replace all of the bolts and they had to drill three of them out. They wouldn't warranty it I had 65k on it at the time.
So, what are the symptoms again, becasue I noticed a slight ticking noise when I swapped out thermo stats this weekend. I had the hood open letting the engine get to temperature making sure I had enough fluid in it.
The ticking noise never stopped and I've read its normal on these HEMI's..
my old man had an 09 before his 12 and a few of the bolts were broke he brought it in and they said he was covered ... he ended up with new heads also cause they cracked when they were trying to get the bolts out
I did the passenger side bolts about 4 months ago. I had 2 broken studs on the back of the manifold, but they broke at the top of the manifold and all I had to do was take some vice grips to them to get it out. Taking the manifold off, swapping out the hardware, and putting it back together took all of an hour. Now the driver's side is doing it. I'm hoping they broke in a way to make the repair easy like last time.
The updated studs from the Dodge dealership and a new manifold gasket was all of $25, so it's not expensive to do it yourself. I did have to wait a couple of days for the gasket to come in.
I bought this truck used and I'm pushing 90,000 miles on it so there's not warranty on it for me. I wish there was a recall as it's obviously a common problem from the manufacturer using hardware that wasn't up to speed for the job.
The only other vehicle I had this kind of problem on was a turbo Eclipse I had 15 years ago. But with the turbo I'd expect that to be more of a problem due to the increase in pressure on the manifold.