Exhaust Manifold Leak. help...

[stmrebel]

Well I have searched and read all about this problem and have alot of different opinions, so I figured I would ask yall what you think. I have an exhaust manifold leak, driver side, and its warped pretty good, this is on my 97 f350 4x4. Anyways I have talked to some shops about having it machined, and there is where I have a few questions. One would be, should I have them machined, or is there a good place to get new/after market ones, I called Ford and they said around 400$ for one manifold. That seems a bit steep when getting them machined is way way way cheaper, also I will be replacing the exhaust, should I have the other manifold taken off and machined as well, (it is not leaking). And one more Question would be if I have them machined, should I put the gaskets that are now being made for them on?(there are none originally) Anyways, just wanting to see what any of you have done, or whatcha think. Thanks in advanced!

[nightmare95]

hey, i just fixed my drivers manifold last week. It was a lot easiler of a job then i expected, the old owner must have left the leak for a long time because it was also warped pretty bad. i got it machined for $80. Went and bought a gasket and new bolts. I recommend the gasket, just extra prevention for a future leak. And my motto is, why spend money if you dont need to, so i personally wouldnt touch the other manifold, untill it actually does leak. IMO.

hope this helps