Leaking Exhaust Manifold?

[4wardmotion]

My 2008 has developed a noise (leak?) that is very noticeable when the car is first started. Once it warms up, the sound almost disappears. It's coming from inside the engine compartment and sounds almost the same as an exhaust leak we had on our 2007 Explorer, which turned out to be a leaking exhaust manifold gasket. Fortunately, that was covered under the 5/60K powertrain warranty or it would have cost us close to a $1K. The service manager informed me that it was a b!tch to replace as a couple of the bolts broke during the replacement process.

I'm not positive it's the manifold exhaust that I'm hearing, but that's my best (unprofessional) guess.

I've search the forums but found nothing on this subject, so I assume it's not a prevalent issue (yet). My 9 was used for my field service work (mostly highway travel) up until the fall of 2012 when I took a new position where I now work at home. At that point, the car had 123K miles and I didn't notice this noise. Now, 15 months later, I have only added about 3500 miles as the car mostly sits in the garage unused all week.

My questions for those who know...
Is this a big / expensive job on this vehicle?
Is breaking bolts a common occurrence during manifold gasket replacement or was our Ford experience an anomaly?
Are there 2 gaskets on this engine? If so, does it make sense to replace them both, even if only one is leaking?
Is this the type of repair the kind any decent independent mechanic can take care of or is it best brought to the dealership?
Is there anything else this might be, to cause the sounds I described?

Thanks in advance of any helpful advise!

In case anyone is curious; besides this, a spark plug issue that caused hesitation are the only issues I've had with my 9....it has treated me well!

Pete

 

[Bgallodoro24]

Could it be the belt making that noise? I know mine does it when it first starts up. Almost sounds like an exhaust leak.