exhaust leak

[spederman]

How do can you tell if you have an exhaust leak? I get this overwhelming stink of exhaust coming in my car with the windows down. I'm not sure how i would test for an exhaust leak, anybody know of any techniques?

 

[Stang|ess]

That stink is from your lack of cats. A leak will sound like a tick under a load.

 

[BurningRubber]

Hissing or ticking, or sometimes on deceleration in gear you will hear the air being "sucked" back.

Its pretty distinct.

 

[04GTMustang]

i would like to know this too. I have a tick under load but it scares me at times because i think its detonation.(Even though its been about 10k miles or more since it started) I had my exhaust welded up from a known exhaust leak and im pretty sure that it didnt make any noise what so ever the day taht i picked it back up. Shortly after i started getting this tick/metal sound under load doesnt matter what gear except 1st because its so short. I know its not the tuner either because it still makes teh exact same noise with or without the tune running 93 octane.

the only hope right now that i have for it not being pinging is taht ive put a good amount of miles on teh car since it started back up and they have been pretty hard miles meaning about 20 or so passes at teh track and punching it now and then on the street. So im pretty sure it would have blown up on me already if its knocking on 93 octane stock timing, sea foamed car, and the temps staying down. So im pretty sure if it was that touchy she would have went boom by now.

 

[fast97gt]

um what could be happening is that your trunk seal might not be sealing like it did when it was new and with the windows it causes a vacuum pulling the exhaust from the tail pies trough the trunk but check it out might be wrong

 

[spederman]

I dont have any ticks or hissing, so it might just be the no cats/ new headers thing which i'm not used to. I'll have to keep an eye on it. The car does sound a lot different but I think that might be normal for the O/R X pipe with headers since i was used to a catted x pipe with stock manifolds.

 

[spederman]

A little update on my exhaust leak. I started the car up today for a few seconds to drive it up some wood planks so i could get a jack under it. While i was doing my thing underneath i noticed that where my O/R bassani x pipe pieces bolts up to each other there was water/condenstaion dripping out one of the connection points. It was making a tiny puddle on the floor right at that point. Does that mean i definately have a exhaust leak if water has room to leak out?

 

[04YELLOWGT]

I would think so because Ive never had puddle ofwater under my car from one of my exhaust connections. Like everyone else said you would know you have an exhaust leak because it makes like a poping or ticking sound under load.

 

[myponyrocks]

I found my exhaust leak with seafoam... I need to tighten my headers down.


I had no smell but at low rpm in a high gear if I tried to floor it I could kinda hear the leak, but the seafoam confirmed it.

 

[bakos24]

A little update on my exhaust leak. I started the car up today for a few seconds to drive it up some wood planks so i could get a jack under it. While i was doing my thing underneath i noticed that where my O/R bassani x pipe pieces bolts up to each other there was water/condenstaion dripping out one of the connection points. It was making a tiny puddle on the floor right at that point. Does that mean i definately have a exhaust leak if water has room to leak out?

I would say thats one good spot to check. A good way to tell is start the car and put your hand under that spot and see if you can feel any air coming out of it, if so than theres your leak. Just dont touch the exhaust

 

[twogts4us]

I would say thats one good spot to check. A good way to tell is start the car and put your hand under that spot and see if you can feel any air coming out of it, if so than theres your leak. Just dont touch the exhaust

That's the way I've seen the exhaust grease monkeys doing it...

The condensation, if it's on the pass side, is likely from the A/C - follow the path of the water. You can often also see black marks around a joint that's leaking.
If this is a new exhaust system...and you don't have cats, well, that's likely the issue.