Green ads +5 horsepower at the wheels.



back to the topic....

 

Hmmm, I thought green things added 9hp at the wheels, oh well.

Back to the topic at hand, you did mention feeling "air" while the engine is running, where exactly did you feel it coming from...front of the engine, back of the engine, and was the cooling fan engaged at the time?

I'm still inclined to think its an exhaust leak even though the flex pipe looks healthy, you might have a cracked exhaust manifold or leaking manifold gasket. Barring that possibility for the moment, you may have something as simple as a muffler with blown baffles due to age and mileage.

You really need to have it up on a lift and running to check the exhaust completely,

 

After a closer inspection that air is just coming from the radiator fan. doh!

The drive-on lift was what I was thinking next also. I just need to get to a shop that has the time. After my road trip next week I'm hoping that the issue will be more noticeable.

 

I went to a muffler shop yesterday that found the leak in 10 minutes. The exhaust manifold is cracked.

I suppose it's time to start shopping for a header!

 

Mikie guessed it again. happy hunting.

 

That should be covered under the Emissions warranty... I'd check before spending any $$$

 

Sorry to hear you have a bad manifold, but it should be covered on the 8/80 emissions warranty. A cracked manifold allows extra oxygen into the exhaust upstream of the converter and it can damage the converter over time.

 

I was told that the manifold wasn't covered under that emissions warranty. You get told so much all the time in these situations and until seeing things on paper or straight from the source I suppose it's safe to say that nothing is true.

It guess I need to look at that list of what's covered one more time. Thanks

 

here is my dilemma.

I go back to the/a dealership. Sign the waiver that says I pay them for the labor involved to diagnose the problem. Dealership blames the issue on my front aftermarket swaybar, declines the warranty fix due to that, and I'm out the $40-90 for the diagnosis and I still have the leak.

OR

do some homework, HOPEFULLY find a header for $100-200 dollars, take it over a friends house and have him help me install it for free.

I guess in the end it's my gamble, but it could save me a little time and mostly the stress. I'm worried about the swaybar because I have heard it clunking around under there and that could be the culprit of all of this. From day one I always thought the swaybar sounded a little odd while driving on super rough roads (which memphis is full of), but once I get it out on a nice road (there are some here) I don't have any issues.

 

The chances of a sway bar breaking the exhaust manifold are slim to none in my opinion. If you're worried take a look at the sway bar for rub marks, I'll bet you don't find any.

It would take some considerable force placed on the manifold to break it, you'd really have to bottom out on something, then you'd have corresponding damage to the downpipe and the exhaust.