I have an 89 Max and I thought that the y-pipe on my car had gone and thats why I heard the noise that sounded like there was a huge bunch of gravel or rocks in the exhaust piping under the car and just behind the engine. But then I read a post today and I heard some one talking about the exhaust manifolds going around 160,000 miles and you should have them replaced and I don't know if that has anything to do with my car but I really could use the help becuase I don't know a lot about cars. Thank you.

 

I have a 92SE. It is sputtering, and there is a loss of power. The sound is like a really quiet lawn mower. I narrowed it down to a broken exhaust stud. The stud broke off halfway inside the head! Anyway, I am pretty handy, and the stud is located on the front manifold (whew!) so I will be tapping it out myself, and using a new bolt to clamp it down. I am not sure if this is the same problem you are describing, but like you said, around 160,000 miles this happens. My mileage: 160,000 EXACTLY.