1983 exhuast work help pls
 

i own a 1983 mazda rx7 and it has the nastiest exhaust leak i've ever heard, it is coming from the downpipe, but thats not the problem... well not the problem im asking about anyway... i finally found the gaskets i need to replace them all from the manifold back, but i was wondering if i can take the manifold off from the bottom of the vehicle if i have a lift or if i must actually remove the engine from the bay (which i do not want to do), also the gaskets i found were from mazda and will run me a total of around $90 i was wondering if another company may provide a gasket kit cheaper... i went to auto zone and the only kits they had covered everything down to the spark plug gaskets and i just do not need that or need to spend the extra money, well damn here's my life story lol thanks for reading this far i hope one of you guru's can help me out, Thanks!

-Hockeynightincanada

Loosen top bolts from the top, then put the car on the lift to remove the rest. Engine>manifold gasket should come from Mazda. The others don't need to but they do need to be foil covered gaskets.

i reccomend using mazda only gaskets. any gasket that is not from mazda won't last very long. i used a non oem muffler gasket and it already about junk after just under 1K miles... you may also want to check the flanges for warping as that is common with the 7.

thanks, i ended up replacing it with a gasket from mazda but im still not satisfied although its a remarkable improvement i still need to do more work to get it perfect