Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 Anyone know of a way to determine if you have cracked your exhaust manifold w/out taking it off the engine? I have been developing a horrible exhaust leak that I thought was coming from the head-pipe to manifold gasket, replaced that twice and thought it was still leaking. Took it to my favorite exhaust shop and had them hunting for 20 min and could not find the leak tho he suspected it MAY be coming from the cylinder closest to the firewall at the manifold gasket and said that there was nothing to indicate that the head-pipe to manifold gasket was leaking. Things to note.. I have not taken the exhaust off yet. I do not see any blowout marks on the head near the gasket. There isnt any sound of exhaust leak at or near idle. The exhaust leak gets worse as there is more load on the engine. The sound is like a spray more than a tick, pop, or crackle. (Sounds kind of like my nice exhaust system with someone with their tongue out giving a razberry ) And OMG the horrible fumes. Oh ya, and the guy who had the car before me must have had a real dingbat do the exhaust because the pipe is under tremendous stress. You have to unbold the rear hangers to drop the system down to take the stress off of the head-pipe to manifold flange so you can unbolt it all the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 Regardless of where the leak is, you're still going to have to pull the intake and exhaust manifolds. What I've done is fire the engine up cold and immediately run your bare hand around the suspected leak area on the exhaust manifold before it gets too hot. If there's a crack you should be able to feel the exhaust coming out onto your hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 I've done the same thing that John is recommending. You'll need to be prepared to work sort of fast as it will heat up sort of quickly. You might also try the spray bottle with some soapy water trick like you do on tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest milmascaras Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 An old trick that I learned is to find a piece of garden hose about 5 ft. long. Place one end of the hose to your ear and the other end where you suspect the leak may be coming from. As you move the hose end around the manifold you will reach the leak and actually hear and feel the pressure of the air that is being compressed out. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 Also one of those long matches (like is used for lighting a fireplace and such). Move it around and the leak will blow it out. Just make sure that you don't have any fuel leaks!!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nic-Rebel450CA Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 thanks, good suggestions everyone. I am going to give a quick check around the manifold to see if I can find anything. Otherwise I might just start pulling everything off and putting it back on the right way. Would it cost more to get the manifold checked for cracks then it would to just get another or a header? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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