I was wondering if anyone has an idea just how much power is lost from having a few exhaust leaks from broken exhaust studs. I was thinking about working on the studs this summer while I'm replacing my y-pipe but from what I hear its a pain in the butt to fix the studs and takes a lot of downtime. Is it worth fixing or not?

 

fix them

 

Yes it is a PITA, but you should fix them. It take a while, but if you do it right you won't have a problem with them again..make sure your motor/trans mounts are good too. Might be worht it to replace those at the same time. Exhaust leaks at the manifold not only throw off performance, but it causes heat buildup a the vavle and can burn a valve if it is a bad enough leak.

 

I am fixing mine right now. Big pain. Big loss in power. Yuck.

Like the other guys said, do it ASAP, and do it right the first time.

 

Once mine were fixed, the car pulled noticeably harder all the way through the power band, especially on the top end. The gains were comparable to when I upgraded my y-pipe.

 

Yeah, don't overtorque the studs/nuts..that will surely end up in a repeat performance.

 

Is this the studs coming off the exhaust manifold(what's the difference between a header and exhaust manifold?) that connect to the Y-Pipe?

 

We are speaking of the studs coming out of the head through the exhaust manifold. I think others have had problems with the Y-pipe bolts/studs also, but not me.

Manifold: A pipe or chamber having multiple apertures for making connections.

Header: A pipe that serves as a central connection for two or more smaller pipes.

It appears that "Header" is used very liberally in the motorsports world.

 

Good definitions.....

Now I know what bolts your talking about.... Should you even attempt to tighten them? I have a leak(because I can here it whistling when I really put my foot down) and was contemplating just tightening them up....but if they're going to self destruct when I attempt to tighten them then I will live with the whistle for a little while.

 

DO NOT try and tighten them. The stud(s) will most likely snap when attempting this. I seriously doubt that you have a broken or loose stud. When one of mine broke there was a huge loss of power, and it ran like it had large lawn mower under the hood. "Sputtering" is the best way I could describe it. Your best bet is to have your intuition of a broken stud confirmed by a professional, otherwise you might be out of a lot of unnecessary time and money.

 

Best thing to do is look for OTHER exhaust leaks (there are only a few joints it could be coming from. If there is no other than by elimination, you have leaky manifold. Maybe you'll get lucky (i though mine broke AGAIN..turned out to be a bad joint at the Y-pipe to maniflod..yipee!) You can use a rubber tube..on end to your ear the other near the manifold..move it around and you will rpobably run into the leak. Also, when my studs were broken, the leak wasn't really that bad, it all depends on how many break and how big the gap ends up being. Mine would quiet down after heating up do to expansion of the metal sort of closing the gap.

 

Ditto hear.... The whistling typically occurs when it's cold and only when I am in gear. I know it's either the Y-Pipe bolts or the manifold to block bolts. The fact that it only does it while moving makes it very difficult to detect...

 

I had the same difficulty determining the source. It's hard when you are alone and under the car, with no one ot gas it.The way I dealt with it was to just drop the Y-pipe, put in new crush rings, and bolt it up, making sure it was square and well seated. You can see the soot on the outside of the joint where it leaks, but it is tight down there (get your mind out of the gutter!) and hard to tell sometimes. That revealed that my leak was the the rear manifolt to Y pipe connection. Yeah, I love those easy fixes that eliminate such a nagging problem.

 

the noticable loss of power and exhaust leak noise you are hearing is due to a crack in exhaust manifold. these cars have a known problem with the exhaust manifold. they crack inside but you won't be able to see it because the heat sheld is covering it. if replacing the studs make sure you order a new exhaust manifold. these new manifolds are upgrade due to the common problem these cars were facing. so save yourself the trouble of woundering where the leak is coming from. take it from me its inside the manifold. but remeber you won't be able to see it unless that heat sheld comes off.

 

Where can you order the manifold and how much does it normally run?

 

not only do you lose power from exhaust leaks but you lose GAS MILEAGE. my car dropped 100 miles per tank from my y pipe leaking real bad.