LEAKOIL Forum

Finally made it over to Howie's to take a look at that nasty exhaust leak we've all heard for the past 4 or 5 years!

Pat, (Framingsilly), was nice enough to come over yesterday and do a compression test on Howie's engine. 120 on #2, #3 & #4 and 110 on #1. That's very good news, but still that thing sounds awful.

Pat pointed out a spot to Howie that could be troublesome, but after using some "Howie approved repair material", aka duct tape, it didn't even muffle the horrible racket. Time to look elsewhere.

By the time Josh got there we decided to really take a closer look at the head connections. Bingo. My earlier concern about #1 was confirmed by Josh. They didn't weld the "J" pipe, (Ted is right. It's actually an "F" pipe), all the way around when installing, so there's a leak at the top of that pipe. I stuck my hand up by the #3 exhaust port with the engine running and the connection was like a hot air fan!

These pipes look pretty good, but we all know looks are deceiving. Were hoping some new gaskets may help, so were going to remove it, weld up any of the leaks that are repairable and see if some new gaskets help.

I told Howie the best fix is the right fix. That means 72-74 HE's, stock pipes & connections and a new muffler. For now, that's not going to happen, so we'll see what we can accomplish with what we've got.

Here's a look at Uncle Howie's Spaghetti Warehouse exhaust system.

We thought this junction just before the muffler could be the source of our leak, but it's not.


Here's how #3 & #4 exit the head.


Here's the #1 & #2 side. You can see that weld line just after #1 exhaust. It's leaking on top of that connection because they didn't go all the way around with the weld.


There's a psuedo crossover pipe that runs from #1/#2 over to #3/#4. NOTE: This bus has the underside cooling tin removed, but the muffler heat deflector shield is still there!


It may not matter at this point because Howie doesn't have heater boxes or all the engine tin, but the thermostat is definitely not working.


While these things appear tight, we've got leaks. I hope it's the gaskets.


Howie's going to PB blast them for a few days so I don't break a stud.

Six Volt wrote:Finally made it over to Howie's to take a look at that nasty exhaust leak we've all heard for the past 4 or 5 years!

Here's a look at Uncle Howie's Spaghetti Warehouse exhaust system.

While these things appear tight, we've got leaks. I hope it's the gaskets.


Howie's going to PB blast them for a few days so I don't break a stud.

If the head to f-pipe joint has been loose for that long the head may be toast and the gasket seat eroded from the leak.

I would use LOTS of heat on the exhaust nut to remove them. PB will help but the studs still might need to be replaced to get a good seal when reinstalling the exhaust.

Thanks Ted. That's why I was wary of just tearing it off yesterday. At some point Howie's going to have to "bite the bullet" and get a real exhaust set up. I love pasta, but I'm not a fan of this "spaghetti system". For now, its all he has, so we'll try to make do, but this has to be fixed RIGHT at some point.

Like Ted said the surest way of getting those rusty nuts off without breaking the studs is to heat the nuts cherry red with a small tip acetylene torch. The huts will expand and come right off with very little torque. I've learned the hard way that this method works best every time.

^ X2.
I wouldn't touch those unless they were glowing first.

Good Luck!

Or, you may get lucky and they'll unthread nicely from the head itself.

Be sure to anneal the new copper gaskets so they're nice and soft when you clamp down on them. (Heat them to a dull glow with a torch and dunk them in water.)

Let me know next time you go to Howie's - I'd like to help if I can!

When you go to weld those pipes,I believe they were stainless. Not certain about the flange at the head. Also I did not see any hangers or support brackets for the exhaust,some of the leaks were prob caused by stress fractures and not rust.I like Don's thoughts about being lucky and have the studs unthread out of the head. Then you can replace them.
Bill

Hate to be late for the game,.....Ive always had good luck spliting rusty exhaust nuts with a good sharp chisel...But if you have a good torch you can get them nice and red hot Id probably go that route, like others have said already.

Also, when you put it back together, use plenty of Never Seize on the threads and you won't have any problem getting them off the next time.

You guys will get it sorted out in a few days, easy. Especially after seeing some of Sean and the gang's work.


I'm not sure if this tidbit would fit right or not if you decide to do the whole heater system replacement down the road:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1096512