Does anyone else have a problem with the Y pipe leaking where it connects to the manifolds. I have replaced the donuts about 5 times in one year and to be honest, I"M SICK OF IT. What did you guys do? I ended up stripping the damn threads on the drivers side where the bolt screws into the manifold. So now I am screwed. I gave in and decided to just bring it to the garage and have them deal with it, they can also fix my leak around my cat. So anyone else have this problem? Sorry, needed to vent.

 

I had a problem on the passenger side; one nut kept loosening up. When I'd tighten it, it'd feel like the stud was stripped. My dad suggested trying a new nut; the new nut gripped like hell! So I took it back off, and took the old nut, and screwed both onto one of my basement exhaust manifolds. Sure enough, the old nut was loose as hell- it was also very Tiny. Must've just eroded away with all the years of rust and heating/expanding.

So I went and bought a Second nut, put the first new one back on my car, and then tightened up the 2nd against it so they'd lock together. No problems since.

Remember when you go hunting; it's metric!

Oh this is with the factory's cast-iron donuts, too.

 

Yep. I went through (no lie) at least 8 FelPro donuts with the turbo setup - the stock iron ones are the way to go - and only like $9 each at the dealer!

 

Don't forget the motormite/help brand replacement manifold studs (p/n help or motormite #03112).

 

I do not know if there is room. But have seen people just drill out the threaded hole so you can use a nut and bolt. Then double nut it and that sucker isnt coming apart.

 

Also make sure that you tighten each bolt evenly. I was having a problem with hooking the pass side back up when I replaced my oil pan. Got run off the road and hit the only chunk of cement on the shoulder of I680 = smashed oil pan.

I found that I wasn't tightening them evenly and would cause it to **** to one side and leak like hell.

 

I'm having this problem right now. I wasn't sure if I should get new donuts or not. Do the old ones actually wear out? Some other people said it was better to get the softer kind. I still have the originals but i can feel the leak right where the exhaust pipe mates with the donut and I'm put on the new nuts and screws

 

The stock iron ones warp over time, and since they depend on well-mated surfaces to seal, the sealing effectiveness is lost. They can also crack down the middle if you try and tighten them too much when they are warped. Doward seems to prefer the stock ones, but I prefer the soft ones because the surfaces on the manifolds and Y-pipe just won't be true after 15+ years.

 

I also like the soft ones, but they continue to blow out and you have to keep tightening the bolts. I think i may have to go to the cast iron ones. The softer ones are great for a old lady, but if you keep the rpm up there, they blow out pretty quickly and its not worth changing them over and over I never used the cast iron ones, do they leak bad? Thanks guys

 

The soft ones shouldn't blow out. What are you doing to your car? If you're lucky, the iron ones won't leak, but on the other hand it might take some work to make them seal properly.

 

The soft ones seem to leak constantly and it drives me crazy. I don't be on my car and it has only seen 4500 once. It see 3500-4000 once in a while. So its not like I am killing it, just they seem to blow out easy. What are the ones you are using made from? Thanks

 

That's a good question. All I remember is that if they are installed right and torqued right, the soft material seals well and likely won't spring a leak since it is more or less completely retained. If it's installed incorrectly, you'll just ruin the material. The ones I bought needed some modifying to fit into the manifold. The first one I installed wasn't seated properly and was destroyed when I torqued it down.

 

I ended up bring mine somewhere to be done, they got it done, however they put the oil dipstick on the wronge side of the egr lines that come off the manifold, so now i can't check my oil. Also the stupid thing still leaks alot, so I'm taking it back and making them do it right. What do you think? Thanks

 

Thanks for the part number! I'll have to track some down this weekend "just to have". Last time I snapped a stud and had to install my spare manifold from the basement- now I'd be screwed if I snapped another stud. (Both manifolds in the basement have snapped studs)