Exhaust leak near manifold

[rickstyphilis]

G'day fellow enthusiasts,

I have a MY00 Liberty Wagon. I am pretty mechanically minded (do most of my own work on the car) but don't know what you call all the parts so sometimes my descriptions may be hard to interpret, I thank you for perservering with me. If I am not sure of a parts name I'll put a (?) after it...

I have an issue with an exhaust leak near the manifold. The car makes a lot of noise under compression and I can feel air escaping around the manifold, so I replaced the manifold gasket thinking this would fix the problem.

No such luck... Unless I should have used sealant paste?

If a sealant isn't necessary, I assume that it is probably a crack in the manifold... and that sounds expensive to fix. At best it is maybe a crack in the extractor(?)

Am I on the right track or could this be something else entirely?

I'm also hoping that you might have some advice on diagosing the problem, and what is the best approach to fixing a crack in the manifold (if that is what is required - possibly replacing the whole manifold? The answer to which would probably be see a professional). If it's a crack in the extractor(?) that is easy enough to replace.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to talking with you all in future.

[ImpulseWRX]

Doubtful those exhaust headers have a crack they are cast and almost a cm thick, it wouldnt hurt to use paste plus a gasket if you want to go and try that seeing as its only a couple of dollers.

Otherwise try tightening the bolts more anywhere you can or remove the heat shielding and check.

[rickstyphilis]

We had a closer look on the weekend when I finally got a chance to make use of daylight...

We tried some gasket paste and that didn't help... then we noticed that there's sooty residue where the heat shields gape around the headers, leads me to think that it is a crack in the header now. There's no soot around the flares on the drivers side.

I reckon/fear it may fall apart if I undo the heat shield and leave the car totally undrivable. Unless we pack that full of paste and clamp it back on!!! (joking...)

I hit the gutter a while back due to some kook's ignorance and inability to indicate & look where he was going and think this may have started the fracture, it was enough to blow a tyre.

Looks like I'l be up for $200 for some used headers. Subaru quoted $730!

[2jace]

manifolds can be welded, so dont neck yourself over it.
Just go to an exhaust shop or welder and get it welded and hey presto your done.
One more thing to check is are the flanges flat. get a ruler or straight edge and make sure all surfaces are flat. If can make an exhaust leak seem like a gasket gone or a possiblly a crack seem likely.

[kakimoto]

is it a stock manifold or an ebay one?

[rickstyphilis]

kakimoto: is it a stock manifold or an ebay one?

It's a stock one that's (at least I'm pretty sure is) cracked. I'm looking to upgrade because it will be cheaper than replacing it with a genuine part.
Unless I can snap a second hand one cheap...

2jace: manifolds can be welded, so dont neck yourself over it.
Just go to an exhaust shop or welder and get it welded and hey presto your done.
One more thing to check is are the flanges flat. get a ruler or straight edge and make sure all surfaces are flat. If can make an exhaust leak seem like a gasket gone or a possiblly a crack seem likely.

I don't think it is the manifold, as discovered on the weekend and described in my post from earlier today. I cleaned it up pretty good and couldn't see any cracks or fractures. There's a sooty discharge around the heatshield that leads me to believe that the crack is behind it somewhere, and I am not keen to pull it off until I have a replacement... just in case it makes things worse.

But thanks for the advice, I'll check the flanges are flat just to be certain.