Over the last 2 years we have replaced 4 manifolds and currently working on a getting a fifth.
We have all of them replaced under waranty so I have had no real out of pocket expenses. But the mechanic is saying that the supplier is not wanting to replace the current one under warranty.
The last one, the mechanic ground the heads down, hoping that it will solve the problem. This Fall the sound came back, and so did the smell.
Now, they are suggesting, the heads are warped.
So I am at a cross roads. There is a possiblity to have a $2000 ( I also require a timing belt and other gerneral repairs) repair bill for a car that is currently valued between $4-5000. It has 245,000Km. And it still might not solve the problem of the cracking manifolds.
We are hoping that while the engine is having the manifold removed and the timing belt replaced they can find the issue with the disappearing oil. We have always gone thru 1 quart a week since we bought the car used in 2000.