I have an exhaust leak where my down pipe bolts up to the exhaust manifold. How should I go about fixing this? There is about 1/8" of viewable space between the two. Should I just unbolt the down pipe and rebolt it until it matches up?
Most times, yes.
It depends on why it has a gap; if the bolts worked loose, just tighten them. If the exhaust was intalled incorrectly, you might have to loosen and adjust all of it. If the pipe cracked or broke, you will need a new pipe.
Bill
I'm not sure???
Do the 2.3 manifolds use exhaust donuts??
There is also supposed to be a bracket to bolt the head pipe to the bellhouse.
From Pintony
I do not have the bracket connected to the bell housing. I noticed it on a 74 at the scrap yard that I pulled good window belts off though. It was so rusted I couldn't get one of the two bolts off. Would it be worth going back to see if it is still there? If so, how should I go about getting the other bolt off?
Hello Dave,
The bracket must be there for a reason.
Try to find another bracket or take some oil and squirt the bolt down. On the 2.0 the exhaust donut nuts are 16mm. You almost have to have a snap-on swivel socket to get to it.
OR you can just cut the U-clamp with a battery powered saw-zaw to remove the bracket.
On the right is a bracket for the 2.0 on the left is an NOS bracket for the 1.6.
Sorry I do not have the bracket for the 2.3
From Pintony
That's the thing. No one whom I've spoke to who has worked on the car can recall ever seeing a clamp.
I'll call up Jalopy Jungle and see if they still have the car there, but it's highly likely it won't be as they are tossing cars like crazy right now and the wagon I saw wasn't on their list anymore.
The 2.3 does not have a gasket where the pipe and manifold meet, just a cone. There are two studs on the manifold. All the front pipes I have ever seen have have a bracket on them that connects to a hangar at the tranny mount, not the bell.
Bill
Well I was under the car checking out my pipe and tightening up the mating bolts that connect the down pipe to the manifold. Seems like one was just a thread to loose cause it's nice and quiet in the engine bay now. :D
I still notice a putt putt putt around the catalytic converter though. When sitting in the driver's seat with the door open, it sounds like it's coming from the center of the car. I know my dad took the catalytic converter out and removed it's innards because it was causing the car to misfire. Is that why it is sputtering or is it my flange gaskets?
I found flange gaskets on Schucks website, but I do not know if they are the correct ones. Could someone take a look and validate it for me? Part number 60309 or the link below.
http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=FEL&MfrPartNumber=60309
I think my 74 had a hanger connecting the pipe to the bellhousing. 74 did not use a catalytic converter. However my 76 and the 79 i parted out as well as the 79 i have now bolts the cat converter to the transmission mount just as 77turbopinto said. With this said, id say pre cat cars have the bracket that holds it at the bellhousing, and cars that came with a cat, have a bracket that holds the exhaust at the trans mount. All pintos 76+ have cat. converters. In 75, only california cars, and 2300 cars, (but oddly not the V6 ones according to the pinto chiltons i have) came with converters. Also there is no gasket, just a flange and cone as mentioned already.
The 80 hatchback I had that donated the motor to my cruising wagon had a different exhaust manifold than the 79 and older cars, It used a flat gasket to seal the two piece down pipe to the manifold. I did not want to go thru the trouble of changing the down pipe so I used the exhaust manifold off the motor that came out of the crusing wagon. Its a good thing too because the 80 manifold was cracked under the heat shield. Here is a picture.....
Thanks Tigger.
I now recall seeing an 80 with the cat directly bolted to the manifold as well as one with the pipe in your photo. As time went on after the cats were used, the emissions reg.s got more strict forcing auto makers to re-work the cars. The closer the cat to the engine, the hotter it gets/stays, the better it works.
The only '80 cars I ever had were parts cars with no engines.
Bill
Yeah, my cat is dead center underneath my passenger side of the car. I only see rubber mounts by the tranny mount and one in the back near the axle.