i have a v8 tpi setup with all that air piping for the exhaust. has that whole air diverter valve setup and a port off the cat to send exhaust fumes back to the ewngine to be reburned

so lots of hoses and all that jazz

even pipes going to each port on the manifolds

my manifolds look pretty rusty but normal rust look especially after 20years

but y-pipe - to the tips is new

im just want to rule out an exhaust leak. shoudl ijust take it to a shop or is it something i can do?

 

Urgh! That sucks man.

The only thing I can tell you from my experience is look for any loose bolts/u-bolts anywhere and carefully, CAREFULLY feel around (without physically touching) the pipes to feel for any air. That's about it.

If your ears are really good, then you can listen for differences in sound that are unfamiliar to you. For example, on the passengers side rear, the bolt that holds the header (in my car) to the engine block is damn near impossible to tightened good. It does eventually loosen after time. I always know when it does because I can hear what sounds like a ticking noise. It almost sounds like a piece of paper when it gets stuck in between the grill of an oscillating fan.

I go right to that bolt and tightened as good as it's gonna get. The tick goes away. That's about it.

 

Block the exhaust tips for a second and listen to hear where the leak is coming from.

 

why does it make a ticking sound? im not familiar with how all this works but i would think off the top of my head it would be mroe of a hissing sound but i keep reading to listen for ticking any reason for the ticking noise?

 

I have a leak right now where the factory y pipe meets the exhaust manifold. There is a piece of metal between the two like a gasket or spacer. It sounds just as you decribe and when it warms up it goes away. If you cant reach it you might be able to stuck a piece of paper down along the manifolds and see if it moves or becomes discolored.

 

I am specifically talking about my car, not all cars and not your car. I'm simply stating that you know your car best and your ears should be able to identify when something is off.

Just like a person who is a whiz with a stick shift will shift by ear whether they admit it or not, it's the same with your car. If something sounds off, then something is off. You should be able to hear (unless you have problems with your hearing like me, I will only pick it up with my right ear) that something does not sound normal. Try to identify more or less where the sound is coming from then feel around for air.

If you find it then at least you can be able to deal with it.

 

i dont know how to do it but i have heard of people doing it, plug your exhaust tip and then put a drop of oil somewhere so the exhaust smokes and look to see where the smoke comes out, and a ticking could be from a bolt that had a head break off of it, that happened to me

 

Header leaks tick with the pace of the engine firing.. it would be the same pace as a timing light flashing. collector leaks are going to be more a little more constant as you have 4 cylinders leaking air at that point. a leak any further down the line is going to be pretty much continuous.. If you have had a leak for a while you will have black soot buildup around the seam or flange. Oh and the actually tick is just a combination of engine noises and part of the combustion explosion that just took place but is muffled because it only escaped through a leak..

 

im semi new here but being a GM tech i thought id give my input since im going to fix my leaking header(s) right now. someone asked why it ticks instead of hisses, it ticks because the exhaust escaping is only going through a possible seam .00001th of an inch, sometimes only the "thickness" of a piece of paper. if it were a gaping hole it wouldnt tick it would sound more like a steam powered train coasting down a rail. the best way i find leaks and determine if even IS a leak in the exhaust system is by using a mechanics stethoscope(preferably a long "needle" type at least a foot long) while the engine is idling. sometimes a noisy valvetrain can sound identical to a leaky header/manifold. i hope this helps.

-Jay

 

best thing I can say is while the engine is running let it slowly suck some ATF through a vacuum line. not enough to kill it or anything though. the stuff is thick and takes forever to burn and smokes like the dickens (which also means you don't want to put too much in there) but then get under the car and see where the smoke comes from.

found a few on the rx7 that way.

 

I have a leak at the Cat Conv where the Y-Pipe goes. 8-(