Hey Guys,
I think my exhaust manifold is leaking because of the ticking that I get when its cold or when I accelerate. Anyway, I have heard of the bolts getting loose on those things so I was wondering if I could just see if tightening them would help. I've heard that tightening a gasket that has been in there for a while could potentially cause a leak somewhere else so I figured I'd run it by you guys before I did anything stupid. Thanks a lot.

 

You can try but do not crank too hard and break them, torque them to the proper value with a torque wrench. I would try to find the leak though first as it could be in any number of places.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Does anyone know what the proper torque is for the bolts. Today I tried to pinpoint the leak and the only thing that I came up with is that it is the loudest listening from the drivers side top of the engine (by top I mean its louder under the hood then beneath the truck). If I wanted to just replace the gaskets all together is that involved .... it doesn't look like much but I have gotten in over my head before. Thanks

 

Down load a free Rave Cd for the link on my signature and you will find the answer.
Also look closely at each bolt and around the manifolds for a grey stain from an exhaust leak, if you don't find it, it may not be the bolts or gaskets.

 

I have a 97 DI that had a leak at the exhaust manifold to the Y-pipe interface on the passenger side. The metal gasket there had burned thru at one place along the edge. Sounds like a simple replacement, right?

The vehicle had just over 100K miles on it. All the hardware was the original equipment and had never been removed since manufactured. The problem you run into is that the hardware itself becomes very brittle from heat cycling over its lifetime.

I ended up stripping one of the nuts, breaking a couple of studs at the manifold and having to remove the exhaust manifold at the engine block to remove broken studs. While trying to drill out one of the broken studs, I screwed up one of the threaded holes and wound up buying a replacement (used) manifold.

I have learned not to underestimate when assessing a repair on these beasts. I now soak every nut/bolt thoroughly with PB Blaster in advance of attempting to remove anything. Sometimes allowing several hours/days with multiple applications. Ensure I use good fitting quality sockets with a long breaker bar. I always buy all new fasteners if possible to avoid reassembling with old hardware.

Download the RAVE Manual. Print the pages associated with the repair to use as a work order to follow. Ensure you have all the appropriate tools.

See what parts are or may be involved. Be ready to replace all associated items. Make sure you get legitimate parts, not some junk made in China.

If you do shear a stud, remove the manifold from the engine. Don't try to remove it with the manifold still mounted to the engine.

Have fun doing it.

 

You can also use a length of garden hose to help isolate leaks. Listen through it and as soon as ytou get near a leak, you will be able to tell the difference.

 

actually its really easy to replace the studs. the trick is to use the vehicle to your advantage. just let it run for about twenty minutes or so and then take them off. the studs will come out and its alot easier to pull the exhaust manifold off and then install the new studs. and get a stud remover, helps out as well.

 

Being the cheap person I am, I've had good luck with double nuts for stud extraction assuming theres enough threads left: just tighten the two nuts together on the stud, use an open end wrench on the inner nut, and the stud should back out as you turn the inner nut.

I had an exhaust manifold bolt head snap off when changing my o2 sensors the other week (no idea why other than perhaps there was torque on the manifold while loosening the sensor). Double nut got it out.