One of my buddies heard my RS the other day and said it sounds like she might have a small exhaust leak. What is that and how can i pin point it to fix it?

 

Put the car up on 4 jack stands; crank it up; get a piece of heater hose, and stick it in your ear (I just LOVE telling people to do that!!!; get under it, and probe around with the other end of the hose. You might find it's so obvious you don't even need the hose.

You can also look for the telltale splash of soot.

Fixing it... that depends on what's leaking.

 

while your up on a lift or jack stands in many cases if you have a buddy squirt just a bit of carb cleaner into a idling engine it will result in a puff of smoke from the leak point also, obviously this usually requires a two or four post lift and or a good deal of safety precautions to have a running car up on a lift and make sure its not in gear and the brakes are on if its a 4 post design

 

Works for me all the time My TA with its slip fit exhaust system has the obvious soot signs of leaks. My camaro had some pin holes in the exhaust and you can use your hand to feel around the pipes and feel the exhaust air pulsing in your hand. Also can locate some of the soot trail but it wasnt as evident on that car.

The heater hose trick i've seen used by exhaust shops...works well too from what I was told,but I never tried that one.

header flange leaks are abit harder to determine...the valvetrain noise and even injectors can make the ticking sounds of exhaust leaks.

 

The best way I find to find a very small hard to find leak is when the car is on the lift, have the engine running while you are under it, have someone hold rags up to the end of your exhaust tips, this will force the exhaust out through the hole it is leaking from and make it easier to find.