Exhaust Leak Repair

[myfirstlincoln]

So my mechanic tells me I have an exhaust least at the manifold as he (and I) can certainly hear it when accelerating (ticking noise). The car drives fine other than the annoying noise and he seemed even hesitant to take on the job as it's probably going to need a new gasket, perhaps dealing with a snapped bolt (s), and of course working in basically no room. I've seen the threads on installing headers so I know it's damn near impossible.

Anyone else experience an exhaust leak/have to replace the gasket and what route did you go? He said it could be a pretty easy fix or hours upon hours of labor which would obviously be pricey. Thoughts/comments/ideas are all welcome. Thanks!

 

[1LoudLS]

its all going to come down to exactly where the leak is coming from.

the one thing i can tell you is, dont expect it to be easy!

 

[RichieboyLS]

I don't really know what I'm talking about but maybe it would be easier to swap with a junked car?

 

[1LoudLS]

but what does he need to swap out with a junked car, he need to find out if it is a cracked header, a blown gasket, or just a broken bolt.


also why is he hesitant to take on the job? thats what mech's do to get paid, that is usually a sing that the person is way out of their comfort zone, i would find somebody with experience with the LS, she is a fickle beast.

 

[joegr]

I don't really know what I'm talking about but maybe it would be easier to swap with a junked car?

You mean swap the engine with the exhaust manifold still attached?
That would probably be just trading problems.

 

[joegr]

...also why is he hesitant to take on the job? thats what mech's do to get paid, that is usually a sing that the person is way out of their comfort zone, i would find somebody with experience with the LS, she is a fickle beast.

Usually, this means that -
a. he/she has never done this before.
or
b. he/she has done it before and it didn't work out too well for them.

 

[myfirstlincoln]

Swap out the whole engine!???! haha. I don't think so.

He was hesitant because it really isn't affecting much other than being kinda annoying when driving and he thinks it will take quite a while (and therefore cost quite a bit) and was looking out for my wallet. I have no doubt he can do it and will gladly do it haha - it's not like he's doing it for free. He owns a very reputable shop that's been in business for many many years and he's very well known for being very thorough and is also one of the few performance shops in the area. He always has nice cars. In fact, I sometimes just visit to see all the classic muscle cars or new luxury cars that come in for mods. I guess I shouldn't have used the word hesitant..he just explained to me that he knows it's gonna be a pita and take some time and time is money

 

[De-marko]

I just fixed my exhaust leak at the header here very recently. The job is not too bad and would be a lot easier to drop the engine with the cradle to get at the bolts and EGR tube as Cammer mentions in this thread. The only headache was getting the EGR tube off of the passenger manifold, everything else was standard R&R.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=75428

 

[1LoudLS]

where exactly was the leak coming from?

 

[RichieboyLS]

You mean swap the engine with the exhaust manifold still attached?
That would probably be just trading problems.

Noo I meant swap the exhaust piping where it would be leaking.. See I have no idea. I thought exhaust leak meant there's a leak coming from somewhere under there car.

 

[1LoudLS]

well there could be a hole or crack somewhere in the pipe, or it may be a bad gasket or loose bolt.