Guest ZombyWoof Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Apparently, this is the cause (or part cause) of exhaust smell in my car. Is a heat riser fixable, or available new?How hard would it be to replace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly_John Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 In 1963, the heat riser valve is an integral part of the passenger's side exhaust manifold. It is about impossible to service by itself. Most guys will just go and find another exhaust manifold (with a good heat riser in it). However, if you indeed do have a '63 engine in your car....I don't know how the valve itself can "leak", as your post above states, since it is not a separate unit (like in later years). Perhaps you have a cracked exhaust manifold, or bad gaskets instead. Have you looked at the problem yourself? John in Wisconsin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZombyWoof Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 It's a '63 engine. I was under the car with the muffler shop guy who was using a listening device for leaks. He noticed that the riser was operating properly (freely opening and closing.) Is the riser supposed to close itself when operating? Not exactly sure how this part is supposed to operate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 It stays closed to force hot air up to the choke mechanism and the crossover that's built into the intake manifold. Both are used to make the engine run smoother when it's cold. Once the engine is warm and the carb and fuel mixture are warm enough for the engine to run smoothly, the spring on the riser heats up and contracts, opening the riser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DLT Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 ZW, Something to consider when searching for an exhaust leak on your '63. I looked and looked for my exhaust leak that I could hear and smell. I even removed and re-tightened the pipe to header connection and one of the exhaust manifolds. No luck. I finally discover that on the underside of the intake manifold there is a round replaceable disk called an intake manifold plug. I remember this disk was apx 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Mine had a small rust hole no bigger than a dime but it resulted in lots of noise and exhaust fumes entering into the car. The intake allows exhaust gases to pass through to help heat up the car when cold. Controlled by the exhaust valve on the passenger side exhaust manifold.To get to this you will need to remove the carb and the intake manifold. CARS sells the plug as well as new intake gaskets, carb gasket, and steel carb spacer for the carb to protect it from the exhaust gases. It was an easy repair and I had the intake hot tank cleaned and resurfaced when off the car and painted as well before installing. It is hard to isolate an exhaust noise under the hood with the car running but do check in that space between intake and the cam cover before going any further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZombyWoof Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 DLT: Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewatersky Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the info above - I have a bad smell in my 65's cabin that seems to be exhaust, given the headache I get after driving only a few minutes.I had the carby cleaned up and some adjustments made to change the cold start / heater. I wonder if it's the Same problem...? I have minimal understanding of how this all works to be honest and I'm hoping we can find the source... Edited July 16, 2012 by whitewatersky (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 If you're getting smells in the cabin but they're not causing you to pass out (or something worse,) chances are that they're not the carbon monoxide from the exhaust. There are other smells as well that can get into the cabin. One thing that every first generation Riviera owner needs to look at is the seal at the bottom of the steering column. They have a dendency to rot and let engine smells/heat into the cabin. This is only applicable to cars with tilt steering wheels.For all of you ROA members, there's a tech article on this on the ROA's website. It's in the next to the last category on the Tech Tips page. The title of the article is Steering Column heat/noise/fumes.Easy enough to do for the DIY'er.Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewatersky Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Thanks for the heads up. Thankfully no passing out yet. It is pretty awful, the smell coming into the car.Not much fun during winter when we want the windows up (tho our winter is pretty mild - think L.A. at Christmas time)...I wondered whether it was exhaust coming into the boot (trunk) since we changed the seal with the Clark's kit without any great experience with this kinda task. I jumped in last night, entrusting my wife with the task of setting me free. Made for some good gangster talk.Shone a light around the boot lip and I could see a slight blur of light down in the driver's side bottom corner. VERY faint. tightened the latch as much as I could (now it needs quite a slammin!) but still got the stink this morning on the way to work, where I read Ed's post. whilst it seems I was looking in the wrong area, it wasn't completely unpleasant.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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