Fixing exhaust lead

Mar 15, 2007 10 Replies
N

The rearmost stud is broken on my 2.5 4cyl (95 YJ) and it has an exhaust leak. It was this way when I bought it so I have no idea how long it has gone like this. Yesterday I took it to a mechanic and he said that he could just remove the manifolds and broken stud and put in a new gasket but that there is only a 50% chance it will seal properly. He said the sure fix is to mill the exhaust manifold and mating surface on the head, stating that the exhaust leak could have erroded the mating surfaces.



Does this sound reasonable?



Also, would the intake manifold also have to be milled to keep it at the same thickness? I worry about this because some of the fasterners are used to hold both manifolds in place.



Thanks



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N

Any advice would be appreciated. I=B4m sure some of you have dealt with this before. Thanks

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D

Depends on how much damage has occurred. It might be minimal or something that can be taken up with one of the better ringseal type gaskets and some permatex copper. milling the head and exhaust manifold is much more expensive than re-doing the gasket so I'd probably try the gasket first. Then if it was necissary I'd get an aftermarket set of headers for it and have the block checked. Checking the block for erosion isn't too difficult just time consuming.

This is an issue. Minor differences should be taken up by the cone washers but yes, if they mill too much. That's why I suggest looking at a nice set of headers.

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D

er.. head checked.. like I need mine checked for calling the head a block. guess I'm a block head.

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N

Thanks to all who replied. This mechanic is highly recommended by the local jeepers so I would tend to trust him. I was starting to doubt since milling seemed extreme to me. However, based on your comments it seems he was just letting me know the worst case scenario. I'm thinking if it needs milling, I would rather get headers or a new manifold and mill only on the head to avoid mismatching the intake and exhaust manifold thicknesses.

Thanks

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C

I have seen manifolds erode or pit very badly if a leak is left unfixed for a long enough time, so yes it is possible. If you trust your mechanic, then take his advice. There are many good mechanics out there, and there are also a lot of shady ones.

Chris

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M

There is a gasket glue designed for exhaust gaskets in case of pits from a leak and it is not unheard of to double the gaskets if it has a slight warp.

Mike

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L

Thanks to all who replied. This mechanic is highly recommended by the local jeepers so I would tend to trust him. I was starting to doubt since milling seemed extreme to me. However, based on your comments it seems he was just letting me know the worst case scenario. I'm thinking if it needs milling, I would rather get headers or a new manifold and mill only on the head to avoid mismatching the intake and exhaust manifold thicknesses.

Thanks

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N

Thanks to everybody for the help.

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N

Thanks for the link. I am also seeing some 2.5 exhaust manifolds on eBay for around $40.00.

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