Broken manifold bolt...Driver's side
 

Driver's side manifold bolt (farthest back) broke....Luckily found it on the garage floor after I pulled the car out.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...1/DSCN2783.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...1/DSCN2782.jpg

How much trouble is this going to cause me....how long can I drive in your estimation before I have a leak? I've always wanted to put headers on the car, but not enough money to do so, so how long could I run without this bolt before it starts hurting my engine. I've always wanted to paint my intake and valve covers....maybe it's time to pull the heads so I can get the part of the bolt out that is stuck inside the head. DAMN, I wanted wheels and tires first, but if it can't GO, there isn't a reason to SHOW.

Well I would say if it is broke off you already have a leak... As for how long you can run it before damage will occur I'm not sure. Best bet would be pull off the manifold and see if you can get the rest of the threaded portion out, if you can just replace the bolt for the time being

To get that bolt out, you are going to have to pull the head to do it. There isn't enough room back there to properly remove the broken part of the bolt. Most likely you will be okay driving the car like this for a little while, but it will eventually begin to leak. Not that I recommend it, but I was in the same situation as you back in May. I had the first header bolt break off in the head, and I was going on the Power Tour in less than a week. I pulled the rest of the bolts off, put gasket sealer on the gasket and bolted everything back up. I was able to make it almost the entire trip before it started to leak, which was roughly 3000 miles.