Thicker exhaust manifold gaskets?

[Dano!]

I can't get rid of this exhaust leak. Does anyone know if a thicker exhaust manifold gasket is available? Has anyone ever doubled up on gaskets before? Did it fix the leak?

I looked around and haven't found any thicker gaskets for the explorer. There are some for an unnamed year mustang GT would those fit?

Any info would be great thank you.

 

[tweakedlogic]

You may have a cracked manifold. I've also seen manifolds that are wrapped, a machine shop can surface them if that's the case. But replacement is the only option for a crack.

 

[Bruces expo]

I've Never Heard of Anyone Doubling there Gaskets Or Similar , As Tweaked Mentioned you might Have a Cracked Manifold , Or Possibly a Small Hole In The Manifold , I Tried To Fix a Rust Hole In a 2001 F-150 With Quick Steel Epoxy And That didn't Hold Very Long And Fell right Off , Good Luck With The Fix And Hope Its An Easy One !

 

[Tbars4]

..Years ago, I had to double up on gaskets but quickly learned that this was a problem more inclined to the cheaper headers..This resulted in a fix about 50% of the time and sometimes it was just a temporary fix..

..Doubling up on the gaskets could also lead to warping or cracking, just the thing you are trying to fix or prevent..

..I'm not saying that there is specific header that will not leak at all or ever, but the cheaper ones generally will leak daily after just sitting and cooled down (cold)..:thumbdwn:

 

[Dano!]

I should have mentioned. I have pace setter headers. From what im reading around is my heads are not as smooth as they used to be and i need to have them machined to make a proper seal.

The exhaust leak i have is not terrable no check engine light. I only hear it when i idle. Its just annoying. Got all this money into a new exhaust and i can hear the light hiss of the leak. Is there any quick fix or alternative fixes?

If not what do you think it would cost to do it properly.

 

[Bruces expo]

Well I Hope Its Not As Bad As We Think And Its An Easy Fix

 

[Dano!]

I honestly don't think its a bad leak. Which lead me to wonder if it would safe to double up on the gaskets. Unless the pace setters have some weird echo. Ill get a video together and hopefully it will be clear enough.

 

[Dano!]

I got the Video,

Do you agree with me that it is an exhaust leak? could it be something else?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVhhbdicTxs&feature=plcp

If you need another video to focus somewhere specific or you think its something else that's making that noise. let me know.

I appreciate everyone helping out.

 

[Bruces expo]

Not Sure , But i do hear some kind of Hiss in the video , Maybe someone else will chime and and give it a listen , Nice Navajo Too !!

 

[Dano!]

Thanks Bruce. i am going to get some sea foam this weekend and see where its coming from.

 

[delexploder]

We have used a straight edge and flashlight on heads and headers then used a right angle die grinder with fresh 3m pads and just slowly take some off or fether out low spots. Thats if u have leaking on the mating surfaces.

 

[Bruces expo]

I've heard good and Bad Things About Seafoam , My Brother mike used it in his Ford van and it made it run allot smoother overall , he also used it on his 2wd v8 1997 4door explorer and said it woke the motor back up , Like a Liquid tune up from the seafoam and oil change

 

[Dano!]

Update:

I just used sea foam on the truck, i found several tiny leaks.

Driver side header: Good
Passenger header: Aft top bolt leaks.
Driver Flange: Good
Passenger flange: Small leak
Driver Y pipe clamp: Small leak
Cat in: Good
Cat out: Good
Muffler In: Good
Muffler out: Small leak in welds.

I was surprised that there wasn't a serious leak. Which brings me to my next question.

I noticed that there is allot of rocking movement in regards to the motor itself. it wobbles excessively in my opinion.
considering how many times I've gone in there and tightened everything up and so on, could the motor wobbling that much cause the leaks? since there is allot of movement in the headers / pipes going to the cat.
can you lift the motor just enough to get clearance to remove the motor mounts? or do i have to unbolt the transmission to gain that clearance?
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Anime]

The motor, exhaust manifolds, and y-pipe, all the way back to the cats, is one whole assembly in regards to movement, so there shouldn't be any leaks caused by that unless it's the gasket between the cat outlet and the muffler inlet pipe, and that just requires a new gasket.

You might want to try new exhaust manifold gaskets, especially if the ones you are using are the cheap ones that came with the headers. Some Fel-Pro ones might do the trick.

In general though, using new headers on old heads might be the problem, since the old manifolds, even if they were warped, were warped the same as the heads might have been.

The best solution would be new heads. If you're using old stock heads, you're not getting much if any benefit from the headers anyway. New aftermarket heads would be thicker, stronger, and flow more. While you're taking the top end for the new heads, you could port the upper and lower intake for more air flow as well.