• Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech

Exhaust Leak And Engine Codes?

  • Thread starter Thread starter aiyoung97
  • Start date Start date Oct 26, 2017
A

aiyoung97

New Member
Oct 26, 2017
2
0
1
Oct 26, 2017
#1
  • Oct 26, 2017
  • #1
Hello everyone! Just purchased my first Mustang, and also my first Ford made vehicle. Have a 1996 Ford Mustang GT, 4.6 5 speed. It has had a PI head and intake swap, CAI, BBK headers, cat delete, and flowmaster 40's. Besides that I believe everything is stock. The car shows 57k miles on the odo.

The car runs very good, besides what I believe to be a bad exhaust leak. Under acceleration I can hear a pretty loud tick coming from the passenger side. The harder you press on the gas pedal the louder it gets. At an idle the engine is super quiet which makes me think its an exhaust leak and not a tappet or something. I did a KOER test today and pulled engine codes P1158 and P1138. Are these codes relevant to this ticking/exhaust leak? What could be the problem here? is it exhaust manifold gaskets or something completely different?

Thanks guys/gals! - Alex
 

imp

Mustang Master
Jul 13, 2017
531
105
83
Oct 26, 2017
#2
  • Oct 26, 2017
  • #2
aiyoung97 said:
Hello everyone! Just purchased my first Mustang, and also my first Ford made vehicle. Have a 1996 Ford Mustang GT, 4.6 5 speed. It has had a PI head and intake swap, CAI, BBK headers, cat delete, and flowmaster 40's. Besides that I believe everything is stock. The car shows 57k miles on the odo.

The car runs very good, besides what I believe to be a bad exhaust leak. Under acceleration I can hear a pretty loud tick coming from the passenger side. The harder you press on the gas pedal the louder it gets. At an idle the engine is super quiet which makes me think its an exhaust leak and not a tappet or something. I did a KOER test today and pulled engine codes P1158 and P1138. Are these codes relevant to this ticking/exhaust leak? What could be the problem here? is it exhaust manifold gaskets or something completely different?

Thanks guys/gals! - Alex
Click to expand...
Those codes relate to Oxygen Sensor problems. One on each bank, or side. Only way an O2 could make an exhaust leak would be it loosened up, or blew out it's guts. Very unlikely. More than likely it IS an exhaust leak, from your description of more load, more noise, maybe a manifold to head leak (try checking bolts for looseness, those are noted for it), or manifold to exhaust pipe gasket leak. imp
 
A

aiyoung97

New Member
Oct 26, 2017
2
0
1
Oct 27, 2017
#3
  • Oct 27, 2017
  • #3
imp said:
Those codes relate to Oxygen Sensor problems. One on each bank, or side. Only way an O2 could make an exhaust leak would be it loosened up, or blew out it's guts. Very unlikely. More than likely it IS an exhaust leak, from your description of more load, more noise, maybe a manifold to head leak (try checking bolts for looseness, those are noted for it), or manifold to exhaust pipe gasket leak. imp
Click to expand...

What exactly is the problem with the o2 sensors? do they need replaced? I had a shop look at my exhaust today, he said that there were no leaks on the pipes and the noise was coming from the headers so i'm assuming this noise is definitely an exhaust manifold to head leak... How hard of a job is this to replace?
 

wmburns

SN Certified Technician
Aug 14, 2009
5,892
514
204
Houston Texas
Oct 27, 2017
#4
  • Oct 27, 2017
  • #4
aiyoung97 said:
Under acceleration I can hear a pretty loud tick coming from the passenger side.
Click to expand...
IF the spark plugs are backing out they can make a "tick" sound. Recommend re-torquing the spark plugs to factory specs just to be sure. It's much cheaper to re-torque rather than thread repair after a blow out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Engine Unexplainable Exhaust Pop and Gurgle
  • Mrnissen122
  • Feb 14, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
Replies
12
Views
474
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech Feb 18, 2026
Noobz347
P
High idle issue and leaking after running.
  • PHoffman
  • Dec 24, 2024
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
1
Views
434
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Dec 24, 2024
General karthief
A
95 Gt intermittent backfire
  • A_A_Ron
  • May 26, 2025
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
0
Views
396
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- May 26, 2025
A_A_Ron
A
Engine Throwing codes 94, 33, 34, 44, and sporadic engine shutoff.
  • Ryu
  • Oct 9, 2024
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
Replies
11
Views
843
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech Oct 16, 2024
89ripper
A
Help with engine issues/emissions
  • Artyom
  • Apr 11, 2024
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
16
Views
2K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- May 12, 2024
Mindseye007
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?