exhaust leak

[tonyjklh]

i have an exhaust leak at teh manifold where it connects to the y pipe(leaking on both sides). i cant seem to find a flange seal anywhere that can fix the leak. can anyone tell me what seal i need for it, or where to get one?

 

[AllanD]

Advanced Auto Parts has them, I JUST bought TWO of them

It's a Walker P/N 31545

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[tonyjklh]

awsome thanks for that. i had been mainly looking at checker auto, autozone, and napa for it. all with no luck. i wish i had heard of advance auto parts earlyer.

 

[AllanD]

Checker/Kragen/Shucks AND Advanced are ALL the same company.
They use the same computer system

their stores are even arrainged the same way.

IF I am already inside the store and don't look at the emblem on the
employees uniform shirts I cannot tell which store I am in without
reading the labels on the house brand motor oil bottles.

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[tonyjklh]

It's a Walker P/N 31545

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i just looked it up. pic on walker site shows it goes between pipe and
cat?

 

[AllanD]

Sorry, brain fade, I thought you had a leak betwene the pipe and the cat.

USUALLY a leak beween the pipe and the manifold is a result of either a rusted clamp collar or a requirement to "adjust" the tension of the bolts.

The problem is if the bolts are badly rusted you are gonna have a fight on your hand.

Sorry I got fixated on my own problems...

there is no actual "Seal" at the manifold and the pipe it is simply a cone
on the manifold and a mating "flare" on the pipe.

If the collar on the pipe is seriously rusted you will need the gasket
I mentioned above when you install another Y-pipe....

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[tonyjklh]

well thats not to good for me, the guy i had bought my truck from wasnt very smart and tried to fix the leak by wealding, i had smoothed it out the best i could and thought a seal would finish it. he had welded onto the cone on the manifold. so does that mean i will need manifolds and a pipe then?

 

[sfwjesse]

Most likely i would say yes.....not sure how he welded onto cast iron (i think those manifolds are cast. How did you even get in there to "smooth" them out?? I just cut my y pipe last week to drop my tranny cause it wouldn't unbolt from the manifolds....even with the tranny out i had a hell of a time getting up there to drill the old bolts out of the manifolds.

If all else fails i would recommend headers....there is headers and a y-pipe for that engine for about $240 i believe, (if your into that sort of thing).....which i am going to do if i cant get mine to seal (don't know yet...gotta finish bleeding the clutch before i start it up)

 

[Bomber]

i ran into a problem with the the flanges going bad on my y-pipe, i got a pair of split clamps from napa, advanced auto has them too, i put tourched the old bolts out of the manifolds, then slapped the split flanges on the y-pipe, used some 2 1/2 inch 5/16's bolts and its not leaking anymore . good luck brotha, o sometimes you can get away with heat treatment ATV.

 

[swamprat]

i bought some putty looking stuff for my leak. I dont know the name of it. I put a bead arounf the flange and then clamped it back up. Worked great. I think I got it at Oreillys.

 

[Nhaz]

That cement compound for muffler repair is probably going to harden and crumble out within a year. It can't take stress or flex.

 

[tonyjklh]

well i guess i will have to just get some headers and a y pipe.

sfwjesse: it wasnt easy to get it smoothed out. took about hour and a half. i used a
dremel with a grinting tip on it and slowly smoothed it out. was a very tight squeeze.
i guess i couldnt get it smooth enough though.

 

[sfwjesse]

yea that sounds like fun. Keep in mind the manifold bolts are almost certainly going to snap. Ive heard of people cutting the heads off and pulling the manifold off....so they could grab closer to the heads...they tend to twist if u turn them from 2 inches out. I tried one of mind and got a whole 1/4 turn with no movement in the head.......so i left it alone. Changing those out is my LAST resort......i don't like my chances for drilling and tapping those without pulling the engine.

How does your y pipe look? maybe you can get away with just changing that ($100 bucks at auto zone) , it will have nice new flanges and a smooth metal sealing surface. Problem is if it doesnt work, i believe you are stuck buying stock manifolds because the y-pipe for aftermarket headers is shorter.

 

[tonyjklh]

im not sure if i want to take the chance in just changing the y-pipe. if i have to replace the manifolds i would rather buy good headers. i found a header+y-pipe kit for 280, so i will probably be going with that.

 

[beejium]

What I learned while replacing exhaust manifolds. Tap socket on GENTLY. Use the weakest impact in your arsenal and "blip" the trigger. That should cause the rust to break down in the threads releasing the stud and or the nut. Only broke 1 in 3 years and it broke at the nut, gave plenty of room for a stud puller. If you are scared of snapping studs off take it to a shop. Let them deal with the headache. You might catch a lot of crap bringing half a project saying it broke! As far as parts stores there all the same. The shop uses N.A.PA. because there more geared to the our needs. Finding a parts store with inelegance is hard, so shop around.