ok i had a small exhaust leak and figured it was just a gasket that was shot. so i replaced the gasket going from the block to the exhaust manifold and the gasket between the two precats. both looked like they needed to be replaced when i got them off. so i put the new ones on, bloted everything up and tightened it as hard as i could. now my idle is at about 1200rpm vs 800 before, there's a bad rattle when i accelerate, and you can smell some bad fumes coming from right by the engine. my first thought was that there is some hose that isn't connected right but i checked everything and it all seemed fine, unless i'm missing something. does anyone have anylue as to what could cause this? anyone else ever have this happen to them. also i know it's not the heat shield protecting the manifold that rattling because it's not even on right now. the thing was just rusted to **** so i tossed it. thanks for any help

 

no one has any clue?

 

Have you looked upnder the car to see if anything is loose? there are shields for the cats aswell as the exhaust manifold. Check all the hangers for the entire exhaust. You may have a hole somewhere in the exhaust causing the idle problem and/or the smell.


Santiago

 

i don't see whaat would have caused it to stat rattling now. it is possible that i did cause a hole in the pipe though when idsconnecting eveything. i think i'm just gonna drive it as is for now and wait to get my bonez race pipe and CS cat back in a few weeks. then when i install that hopefully everything should go away

 

AGE-

Just get under the car and check things out.

 

another question, what kind of gasket sealent do you recommend using? i bought this blue stuff but when i took off the old gaskets they had some red sealent on on them, also how much did you put on?

 

That I know off exhaus gaskets do not use any sealant. I just used the gaskets alone and they do the job just fine.

Santiago

 

maybe you tightened it to much? warped one of the plates? probably pretty hard to do, but maybe yur real strong

 

If you used gasket sealant on the exhaust, then you need to take the thing back off and replace it with a new gasket without the sealant. there is no way to save the one you ruined. Also, tighten the bolts to spec, or at least close. over tightening is bad. not only can you damage the part, but when you need to take it off again in a few months or years, then you are in for a real pain in the ***.