I have an aftermarket exhaust setup and keep getting a LOT of problems with a reoccurring exhaust leak.

I have brought it Speedy muffler"king" about 3 times now... and it just keeps coming back. They have tried their best, I think, putting two gaskets.

I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem. It is leaking right at the doughnut for the exhaust manifold.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

weld it...no more gaskets..weld it up so it wil never come off

 

I have the same problem with a fabbed-up straight pipe at the manifold. I had it welded twice and it still leaks, now worse than ever. The gy used some brass or bronze weld stuff that I don't think has the same heat expansion rate as the mild steel pipe. I'm just going to get a RB header and presilencer and be done with all of it.

 

What kind of gaskets are you guys using?

 

I am not sure what type of gaskets they were using. What type do you have? Are they working okay?

 

I too have a straight pipe setup and a huge exhaust leak at the e.g.manifold. Does anyone know where I can purchase just the e.g. manifold gaskets?

 

Is the piece that bolts to the manifold just a fabbed up pipe? If it is, chances are that they didn't use a thick enough flange, and now it is warped. Because of the high temperatures right at the manifold, you need a really thick flange that will mate with the manifold. I think that the RB ones are at least 7/16" thick - It is a substantial size. No amount of gaskets will seal it properly. Either you weld it, or have another test pipe made with thicker flanges - and better metal.

 

Is it a possibility that the cat is somewhat clogged?

 

Yeah, and if it were, it would increase the pressure and temperature before the cats, and promote the burning of the gaskets. Get the car e-tested, then take the cats off, and put a pipe from the manifold to the Y-pipe.

Lots of power, noise, and pollution!

 

I think its just a RX-7 curse to have an exhaust leak.

 

I don't have an exhaust leak

 

ive got several leaks....

 

I have ONE high flow cat on there right now. ... and failed the e-test in a LARGE way. :P Hehehe, ah well.

I'm thinking of welding it on... would Princess auto sell good gaskets?

 

Honestly, just go to Mazda. Sure it will cost a bunch, but if you buy the gaskets for a rotary engine, you're getting a better product. A cheap gasket will burn up quickly. If that doesn't fix it, then at least you know that the gasket wasn't the problem, and you can look elsewhere.

So how does the system go?
Manifold - down pipe - high flow cat - Y pipe - mufflers?

If so, where did the down pipe come from? If it has thin flanges and is warped, gaskets wont help.

 

Good idea, bad idea?

I'm thinking of going back to stock piping at the manifold. Stretch the piping to the proper size and keep everything that I have at the moment. Just connect the new piping right at the manifold.

This way, I plan on only having about 1 - 2 inches of the smaller piping.

No more blown gaskets (hopefully). If I do, I know I have a bigger problem on my hands.

Do you guys think this would be too much work?

 

if you up to the work it'll be fine. i installed the gaskets from mazda and i mine still work fine. it's been like 10K now. i do have every thing gutted though.

 

Do you have an aftermarket exhaust?

 

yes i do

 

What size is stock FC NA pipe? Just curious while we're on the subject

 

Not too sure on that size... If I had to guess, I'd say 2 1/4"? I dunno...

But, yeah... I decided to pick up a couple gaskets from the Mazda dealer... Going to put those on soon and see how long they last.

 

I have the same gasket problem. I want a RB header anyways, so hopefully that will solve the problem.