Exhaust leak

[no1parfive]

Have 89 TC, 4-cylinder.  Shortly after starting, my engine started making a somewhat loud swish, swish, swish sound , which was coming from the rear of my engine, sounded like an exhaust leak possibly coming from either a ruptured exhaust manifold gasket or a ruptured ball joint connector that connects exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe.  Took vehicle to muffler shop and, after inspection, he surmised that it was a leaking exhaust manifold gasket, or, a bad ball joint connector, which is what I suspected.  I will be doing the repair work myself and am trying to find the parts (exhaust manifold gasket and ball joint connection).  I've been checking the auto-parts places on- line and am still checking with no success.  Would appreciate any help in finding a source for these parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited April 26, 2023 by no1parfive (see edit history)

[Hemi Dude]

2 hours ago, no1parfive said:

Have 89 TC, 4-cylinder.  Shortly after starting, my engine started making a somewhat loud swish, swish, swish sound , which was coming from the rear of my engine, sounded like an exhaust leak possibly coming from either a ruptured exhaust manifold gasket or a ruptured ball joint connector that connects exhaust manifold to exhaust pipe.  Took vehicle to muffler shop and, after inspection, he surmised that it was a leaking exhaust manifold gasket, or, a bad ball joint connector, which is what I suspected.  I will be doing the repair work myself and am trying to find the parts (exhaust manifold gasket and ball joint connection).  I've been checking the auto-parts places on- line and am still checking with no success.  Would appreciate any help in finding a source for these parts.

 

If your leak suddenly appeared and you suspect it at the manifold to exhaust pipe connection, I would highly suspect a plugged Catalytic Converter. This occurs with older cars after many years of service so this does not mean that there is anything wrong with your engine. The exhaust repair shop personal should be familiar with this happening, if they don't, find another shop because this guy is "Not in the know". Some parts from inside the converter may also have passed on to the muffler which then could also be restricted somewhat.

Doing the work yourself could become a problem if it is the converter, unless you have the equipment to replace it with. 

[no1parfive]

Appreciate the helpful input, however, after further troubleshooting, I may have pinpointed the problem.  While running, I placed my hand down between the back of the engine and the firewall, down around the exhaust manifold, and felt hot exhaust being emitted (pressurized stream) from somewhere around the exhaust manifold, which I assume, is coming out from a cracked manifold or a ruptured gasket, I'm thinking ruptured gasket.  I'm now preparing to remove the exhaust manifold to see if that's the problem.

[Hemi Dude]

You need to remove the intake manifold as well. The gasket covers all 8 ports. 

[no1parfive]

Yep, I see that, looks like I will also have to remove the air filter, hoses, and throttle body also before removing the intake manifold, or, can it be done without first removing those?  Also, do you have a source for obtaining an intake/exhaust manifold gasket?

Edited April 27, 2023 by no1parfive (see edit history)

[Hemi Dude]

3 hours ago, no1parfive said:

Yep, I see that, looks like I will also have to remove the air filter, hoses, and throttle body also before removing the intake manifold, or, can it be done without first removing those?  Also, do you have a source for obtaining an intake/exhaust manifold gasket?

Be VERY sure that the leak is at the gasket sealing the head to the manifolds!

This is a big job due to the crampness of the manifolds to the firewall and the turbo attached below.

Do you plan to be using a lift so you can stand under the car to do some of the disconnecting and re-connecting?

Are there signs of any broken manifold attaching ‘STUDS’?  If the exhaust has leaks, it is generally at the ends of the manifold rather than the middle, caused by a loose or broken off retaining nut.

 

When I had my shop, I found it easier to remove the cylinder head with the manifolds attached, then remove the manifolds on the workbench. That way the engine got a new head gasket as well, which is a good ‘Preventative measure’ as the head gasket will often be the failing factor that causes engine overheating and failure.  Also, any broken studs are easily accessed for replacement.

[Hemi Dude]

You can get gaskets at most Auto Parts stores or at RockAuto.com 

[no1parfive]

Thanks for all the great info and pic, I will be doing this job in my garage, no lift, will be using my blue service manual for guidance........I've done similar work on older engines in the past, where engine components were much more accessible........also, could you possibly post a pic  of the other side (back side) of your engine........want to see locations of bolt/stud holes.....also, is there a special tool used to disconnect electrical wires from injectors?

Edited April 27, 2023 by no1parfive (see edit history)

[Hemi Dude]

That is the best I have, but I’ll take a photo of a bare head from the the intake/exhaust side.

[Hemi Dude]

There you go.  Intake manifold attached by long bolts, exhaust with studs in the head and nuts attaching.

One piece gasket in between.  As you can see from an untouched head, the gasket rarely leaks unless one of the 2 end exhaust studs breaks. That happens at the furthest forward [upper right] stud, which is removed from the head in this photo.

[no1parfive]

Appreciate all the help and the pics, I have removed the head, manifold, and turbo as one unit, turbo was missing two of four nuts, the other two was loose, to the point where I could actually shake the turbo.  The turbo gasket was missing about one-third of it's gasket material, looked as though it burned away.  I assume this was causing my original problem of a loud hissing from the back of my engine when started.  I have yet to find a turbo gasket, so I'm now going to make my own using exhaust system gasket material from AutoZone, the material appears to be the same as in my damaged gasket. Anyway, thanks again for all the help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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