exhaust leak

[ohmaynitseric]

Just like the title says. I had the opportunity yesterday to look under the car and I wanted to find out where the leak was coming from. I've had the leak before winter, but never drove it till spring arose. I don't know what it is, it could be the gasket, but it was between the manifold and the j-pipe. Something was sticking out of it. I hope the pictures explain it. I was wondering if i could just get that gasket replaced? and where could i get it.
Any ideas would help.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/2452/1270658809022.th.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/1270658809022.jpg/)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/766/1270658792953.th.jpg (http://img188.imageshack.us/i/1270658792953.jpg/)

[991.8l]

ya looks like the gasket is done, you can grab those from Mazda for relatively cheap I believe. PM DWMPartsguy

[00bluees]

+1

its less than $15 and would only take 15-20 minutes to swap providing those studs come undone and don't break.

[psulja]

I think I have an extra one laying around somewhere that I can mail to you for $10 lol

[ohmaynitseric]

Thanks for the tip guys! I PMed DWM and the part is 8.98 plus tax lol. As much as i want to take it off you psulja, im not a very patient guy ahah. I'm going to buy it later today :)

I just hope the nuts aren't too rusted up to break >_<. btw, the other side of the nut is fixed correct? all i gotta do is turn the nut?

[Azi]

get the nuts too from DWM, They are not regular nuts, they are stover nuts iirc. That means 1 time use only.

[991.8l]

^^ Removing the J-Pipe is a crap shoot, be ready to have to heat the bolts/nuts as they will be rusted to crap. May be a good idea to pickup new hardware while you are at it.

[ohmaynitseric]

when you say pick up new hardware, you mean buy a new j-pipe? from your other thread for muffler express, does it come with the nuts/bolts and the gasket?

Any idea how long the process would be?

[991.8l]

^ no your j-pipe looks good. I mean the nuts and bolts. Its a $6 package for it all if you get it from Muffler Express. But Mazda's stuff will be better.

[ohmaynitseric]

cool, thanks for the tip guys! i'll do it this weekend.

[myprotege5]

use heat a braker bar and lots of cuss words i broke all 3 when i did mine i was lucky i got 2 of then out after the other one was a drill and re tap to a smaller size man was it a pain in the rear if you have problems send me a pm ill be glad to help

[psulja]

Thanks for the tip guys! I PMed DWM and the part is 8.98 plus tax lol. As much as i want to take it off you psulja, im not a very patient guy ahah. I'm going to buy it later today :)

Dang, that's so much cheaper than what the windsor dealer charges lol.. it was like $20 here.

[00bluees]

Thanks for the tip guys! I PMed DWM and the part is 8.98 plus tax lol. As much as i want to take it off you psulja, im not a very patient guy ahah. I'm going to buy it later today :)

I just hope the nuts aren't too rusted up to break >_<. btw, the other side of the nut is fixed correct? all i gotta do is turn the nut?


i would soak them with some penetrating fluid (or ideally a torch to heat them up) and be careful. if all goes well the nuts with just unthread, however the studs they are on are threaded into the cat. when removing my j-pipe i removed an entire stud with the nut still attached. i also broke another stud while tightening the one nut with an impact, but there was enough left for me to torque it down tight enough. i re-used everything despite the hiccups.

like azi said, they may be considered 1 time use nuts, however i re-used mine and its been holding tight for almost a year. they are the nuts that are semi-crushed so they go on very tight and don't loosen easily. mine were still a bitch to put back on, they won't be going anywhere.

[ohmaynitseric]

I just got the gasket earlier today from mazda and i was planning to do it today but its really cold out, so i'll wait till tomorrow. Once i take the j-pipe and the manifold apart, would cleaning be necessary or could i just pop the gasket in and attach it back?

again, thanks for the tip guys! i've been spraying WD-40 on the nuts since yesterday to get it prepared for tomorrow (all little things count).

[00bluees]

i doubt you will need to clean anything, but just make sure theres no nasty sand and crap on the flanges that might prevent a tight seal.

and i hope you have a long ratchet and or strong arms. those nuts are not going to come off or go on easy. when i didn't use an impact gun i used my long torque wrench. all the extra leverage helps.

[midnitehour]

I just got the gasket earlier today from mazda and i was planning to do it today but its really cold out, so i'll wait till tomorrow. Once i take the j-pipe and the manifold apart, would cleaning be necessary or could i just pop the gasket in and attach it back?

again, thanks for the tip guys! i've been spraying WD-40 on the nuts since yesterday to get it prepared for tomorrow (all little things count).

liquid wrench penetrating lube works alot better. the yellow bottle.

keep an eye out for sharp rusted heat sheilds. definetly don't want that in your skin.

[ohmaynitseric]

hey guys,

Just wanted to leave a note saying thanks for all of your advice! I did manage to take out the nuts. It wasn't all that hard for some reason. I sprayed heavy amounts of WD-40 and a couple turns here and there and they came out with ease. Just a little man power all it needed lol.

I replaced the gasket and put it all back together again, with one booboo. When i was putting back the bolt attached to the transmission, my dad tells me, "don't put the bolt attached to the tranny too tight, it'll cross thread.." Right when he said this, it happened O_O. Thank god it was just that one bolt. I'm not much of a mechanic but I learn as much as i can throughout the process especially with my dad. My dad's been fixing cars his whole life but he's technically not a licensed mechanic. Even still, he knows a lot of stuff that i don't even realize.

Anyways, thanks again for the help! really appreciate it guys! :D

[991.8l]

^ Great to hear. DIY FTW.