Loud Engine with Ticking

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Performance exhaust manifolds. Idea is that a wider tube with a controlled path produces a scavenging effect in exhaust gas pulses, allowing for an increase in volumetric efficiency and power and fuel efficiency gains. Lots of theory, lots of argument. They do work, though.






Plus they sound friggin sweet.

 

[sgtsandman]

Read PetroleumJunkie412's thread, "Keeping a Promise". I'll just leave it at that.

Even if you get everything sorted out, there will still be some ticking in the valve train. It's the nature of the beast. In some engines, you want it. If the ticking goes away, bad things are happening. I'm not sure if the 2.9 falls in that category but in some Honda engines, if the ticking goes away, your exhaust valves are burning.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Headers:

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

2.9s tick in lots of ways. They like to be very clean internally as well.

Be careful with additives. Motor medic, liquid moly, or regular atf are good engine flush chemicals.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Performance exhaust manifolds. Idea is that a wider tube with a controlled path produces a scavenging effect in exhaust gas pulses, allowing for an increase in volumetric efficiency and power and efficiency gains. Lots of theory, lots of argument. They do work, though.






Plus they sound friggin sweet.

So keeping modest investments in mind, I suppose the more boring solution would be to have said muffler shop put in a replacement Y pipe?
And is the problem spot (donut) at the entry of Y pipe or exit or Y pipe? If exit, then I could do the flange myself since it sits before the cats and is accessible. But I imagine it’s a pair of donuts right at the engine.
So I’d be tossing the truck at a muffler shop in hopes that they would even accept the task of doing a new Y pipe.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

How do your manifolds look? When they rust, they tend to crack.

 

[sgtsandman]

If the exhaust is setup like my SOHC, the doughnuts are where the manifolds and Y-pipes bolt to each other. Easy enough to do as long as a bolt doesn't snap. I would heat up both ends with a torch to beak any rust bonding that might be happening in the flange and the studs and the studs and the nuts. Lots of penetrant oil as well.

When the driver's side catalytic converter went bad on my 2011, one of the studs snapped. There wasn't much room to work either. I got it out but it was not a fun time.

 

[eightynine4x4]

How do your manifolds look? When they rust, they tend to crack.

I’m honestly just not sure where the manifolds are yet because I don’t have a good diagram on hand until that ol Haynes arrives. Otherwise I’d be down there inspecting for rust and cracks

 

[sgtsandman]

The manifolds are the big metal rusty chunks of cast iron "tubing" mounted to the sides of your heads on the engine. They run down to the y pipes to connect with the exhaust.

 

[eightynine4x4]

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Whats with the tubular crossmember?

 

[eightynine4x4]

Whats with the tubular crossmember?

There’s some aftermarket suspension that seems to have been added ages ago. That’s a whole other project ..

I was hoping to find one of these two Y tube entry points to be blown visibly open but it all visually appears decent.

The combo of suspension lift and 3” body lift sure helps to make things really easy to access though. I could probably change the Y tube now that I understand where it connects.

 

[sgtsandman]

Note the carbon build up in the second picture and the missing bolt. It shouldn't be there and the bolt is missing. That is probably your leak.

EDIT: looking at your y-pipe connections to the exhaust manifolds, it looks like yours is setup for a direct metal to metal contact. Without longer bolts, I doubt you'll be able to get doughnuts in there. Your remaining bolts are pretty much toast as well. It looks like you might have quite a bit of work ahead of you or a lot of work for whomever you pay to do it.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Note the carbon build up in the second picture and the missing bolt. It shouldn't be there and the bolt is missing. That is probably your leak.

EDIT: looking at your y-pipe connections to the exhaust manifolds, it looks like yours is setup for a direct metal to metal contact. Without longer bolts, I doubt you'll be able to get doughnuts in there. Your remaining bolts are pretty much toast as well. It looks like you might have quite a bit of work ahead of you or a lot of work for whomever you pay to do it.

Good eye.
Thoughts about DIY sealing it with a high temperature substance/tape as a temporary solution so that I can keep working on the truck and not be killing my health? I have decent access to these spots so may as well try something. I’ve already got some of that exhaust tape stuff on hand. But some kind of foam sealant would make figment better. I’ll use a mirror to inspect.
And what would the typical price tag be for just having a shop replace both exhaust manifolds ? Seems that could save some headaches.

 

[eightynine4x4]

Also, thoughts about adding another U clamp around it and just squeezing like all hell? I would bet there’s enough length of manifold inside the Y pipe entry for me to put a clamp right after the busted one and have some effect.