While I was driving the other day, my truck suddenly developed an exhaust leak instantly. Kinda sounds like an old volkswagon now. Anyways I looked for the exact location of the leak and to my suprise i found a bolt missing. Actually I'm not sure if it's a bolt or if it was a stud & nut, but if your standing on the driver side facing the engine, its the lower right bolt that festens the exhaust header to the engine. It's just gone, nothing but an empty hole. Can these things just work loose and fall out? If it is a stud instead of a bold, will it be hard to fix?

 

To the Top......

 

The stud fell out..

 

its a stud. they're easy enough to put back in. go to the dealer and ask the parts department for em. It might be worth replacing them all. I had about half of mine where the nut had rusted to the stud, and ended up replacing all of those, and all of the nuts.

I was actually shocked at how cheap the parts were at the dealer. I dont remember the exact price, but I remember thinking that it would probably have been slightly more expensive had I gone to the hardware store.

The new dealer studs have a special end that helps to put them in, and I was actually able to put them in with the manifold still on (you cant do that when using the double up the nut, to act as a locknut, method).

Just be careful putting the new studs in so as to not strip out the holes. I didn't have any issues with that, but other people on here have. You also might want to use some loctite to help keep the studs inplace in the future.

 

Since a couple days ago, I've noticed that my truck has become louder and I can feel a rumble/vibration while driving or just sitting in the seat. I'm sure its just an exhaust leak somewhere. It also seems like there is a slight loss in power, is this normal with a leaking exhaust? How critical is it to get an exhaust leak fixed? Its always leaked a bit (noticeable in freezing weather), and I had the muffler/ tailpipe replace maybe a year ago.

I'm gonna be using the truck later today, so I'll see if I can spot a rust hole or something. Is it OK to go underneath while its running?

 

Just cut the whole exhaust off and run a 2" straight pipe.. You can really piss off those ricer fags at red lights.

 

as long as the vehicle's not in gear and don't inhale the exhaust from any hole you may find

 

Oh... I see..