New to site and have an exhaust leak question.

[Zman1]

Hello,

I am new to the site and I have a question. I took my 2000 with a 3.8 v6 into an independent auto shop to have the oil changed and a small exhaust leak looked at. The leak is on the driver's side and disappears when the car warms up. The independent shop told me that the exhaust manifold gasket had a small leak in it and it would take $300 to fix it. I wasn't ready to spend the money for it right there and then so I did not have it done. I am now calling around to see what it may cost at other shops. My first call was to the Ford dealer and imagine my surprise when they told me this model doesn't even have a gasket. So, help me out, who is feeding me a line of you know what?

Thanks!

 

[wmburns]

Welcome to the site. Hope I can help.

There are several ways of looking at your problem. There is no doubt there is a leak, right? If the car was designed without a gasket, that means the sealing surfaces must be very FLAT and smooth. The fact that it does leak means they are no longer sealing.

Two reasons come quickly to mind. Either the exhaust manifold bolts have backed off or are not properly torqued. Or the sealing surfaces are warped (no longer flat).

A valid method to fix this may be to use new exhaust bolts and studs AND install a new gasket. This gasket will help fill in minor gaps to provide a leak free seal.

Here's the kicker. I suspect that Ford would fix this problem by replacing the exhaust manifold with a new one. This would provide the flat smooth surface needed for a lead free seal.

Which method do you think is cheaper?

If the exhaust manifold is too warpped, it will have to be replaced anyway. Gaskets can only do so much.