When I got my car, it had a little "put-put" sound when I accelerated, hardly noticeable unless you really listened for it. Got it checked out on an inspection anyways (Tire World - my dad took it there ) and they said it was a busted bolt in my exhaust manifold but they don't do engine work. I have the 3.1 L so the exhaust manifold is crammed in the back. I also had a squeal that turned out to be the water pump going bad so that was my main concern. Got that fixed. About a month later, the "put-put" starts getting louder and starts doing it at idle. So I decide I need to get something done about it. The mechanics around here (three of them) want $700 to fix it and I'm not even positive it's a busted bolt or anything. It went away when I turned off my AC one day and that worked for about a month. Now it's doing it even with the AC. I just want to see if anyone knows for sure if this is a busted bolt in the manifold and how much I should look at spending to fix it. I would like to fix it myself, but it's my daily driver and I need it finished within a weekend, maybe even a day and what would I need to do it? Is there is a quick fix or something that would "cover up" until I can get some time to fix it? Also, is this going to cause major problems (I feel like the louder it is - some days are louder than others - the crappier it runs - could be in my head) ? Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

In my experiences of getting inspections, I would say that the knowhow of the guys in the station is pretty slim. How did he come to this conclusion? Did he physically lift your hood and stretch his neck into the back of your engine bay and find the loose bolt? Was he able to visually find out where the leak was coming from? Or did he just give you an answer off the top if his head? Any moron can say what he said and still feel like they know what they are talking about.

Your best bet is to check it out for yourself. I know you said it is cramped in there, but see if you can get a wrench on each of your exhaust manifold bolts and tighten them down. I know it is your daily driver, but something like this isn't going to put your ride out of comission in the least. 700$ to fix an exhaust leak? Eff that. That's outwright rediculous. Get a friend to help you out...see if you can isolate where the noise is coming from. If it is the manifold, tighten it down. If it is a crack or hole in an exhaust pipe, get header wrap and wrap that sucker up. It's really a no brainer job....unless it ISNT a leak...but I would start there.