[austin.h.ratcliffe170]

I have an exhaust leak pretty close to the passenger side flange joined with the header. Pretty bad leak, and noisy. I do have an engine light on, haven't had a chance to check for sure but almost certain the leak is why, so 100% have plans to fix it soon. My question is, am I at risk to doing real damage to anything for the time being until I can afford to fix it? I haven't had the car long and haven't had much time behind the wheel but the leak has been there since I've owned it so it's hard to tell how long it's been driven like this. Can I limp it around for a month with a leak? Aside from the carbon leaking into the cab and risks like that I've read a little about possible valve damage?

 

[Vintage]

Had the exact same thing happen on a 2003 with the 3.8 V6. Not a big deal, no valve damage from just a leak, but probably screwing up O2 sensor readings pretty bad. It's due to poor build quality on the factory steel exhaust manifolds. Essentially a crappy weld at the collector/ball and socket flange. It'll get worse and eventually separate completely due to the weight and vibration of the catalytic mid pipe pulling it down and apart. You'll know it when that happens because you'll have to shout to talk to each other in the car.

Not hard to remove the exh manifold at all. Get it removed, take it down to any decent welding shop, have them TIG weld the collector flange correctly, not the same ****ty little tack welds that the original idiot manufacturer did. Put it back on, and pull the other side and have it welded too, it will eventually start leaking. They welded the ones I took them for $30 for the pair. They were busy so I dropped them off in morning, picked them back up in the afternoon. Easy.

 

[austin.h.ratcliffe170]

Had the exact same thing happen on a 2003 with the 3.8 V6. Not a big deal, no valve damage from just a leak, but probably screwing up O2 sensor readings pretty bad. It's due to poor build quality on the factory steel exhaust manifolds. Essentially a crappy weld at the collector/ball and socket flange. It'll get worse and eventually separate completely due to the weight and vibration of the catalytic mid pipe pulling it down and apart. You'll know it when that happens because you'll have to shout to talk to each other in the car.

Not hard to remove the exh manifold at all. Get it removed, take it down to any decent welding shop, have them TIG weld the collector flange correctly, not the same ****ty little tack welds that the original idiot manufacturer did. Put it back on, and pull the other side and have it welded too, it will eventually start leaking. They welded the ones I took them for $30 for the pair. They were busy so I dropped them off in morning, picked them back up in the afternoon. Easy.

Awesome, sounds good. I was reading this was really common for these cars. I'll have to let it ride for a couple weeks. I've been wanting to upgrade to long tube headers and dual exhaust anyways. Just been waiting it out until I could afford the whole kit and headers.

 

[toddturbo]

also look at the mid pipe. They tend to crack in different areas. Mine was the same car (3.9) and had several cracks in the mid pipe. I welded up the manifolds myself then the mid pipe started cracking. Sold it like that. But in my defense, the car did have 400,000 miles on it. 401 when I sold it. That was really the only issues it ever gave me aside from normal wear and tear parts. Water pump at 269,000 and rack at 275 I think. Brakes, tires, gas, and oil.

 

[austin.h.ratcliffe170]

Awesome, sounds good. I was reading this was really common for these cars. I'll have to let it ride for a couple weeks. I've been wanting to upgrade to long tube headers and dual exhaust anyways. Just been waiting it out until I could afford the whole kit and headers.

So now that's it's warmer in VA I'm able to tell the difference between smoke and condensation and on start up after it sits over night I'm getting a ton of white smoke from the exhaust. It's leaking at the exhaust leak ((near the flanges as mentioned in my last post) and it's smoking up the cab just a bit. Goes away after a few seconds but it's definitely smoke. Smells like straight up burnt gas. It's running fine, no flashing engine light, no loss of power, no stalling... just super rich. I'm not missing coolant and there's no coolant in my oil and vice versa so I don't think it's a head gasket. Is it possible the smoke is from my 02's being shot and it running super lean?

 

[austin.h.ratcliffe170]

also look at the mid pipe. They tend to crack in different areas. Mine was the same car (3.9) and had several cracks in the mid pipe. I welded up the manifolds myself then the mid pipe started cracking. Sold it like that. But in my defense, the car did have 400,000 miles on it. 401 when I sold it. That was really the only issues it ever gave me aside from normal wear and tear parts. Water pump at 269,000 and rack at 275 I think. Brakes, tires, gas, and oil.

That's a crazy amount of miles! I've heard these V6's are super reliable if maintained properly. Mines sitting at 181k and I'd love to see it get a ton more. This is my first Mustang and if I'm being honest I never was super into them until I got this one. Liked the way a few models looked but just fell in love with the way this one drove.

 

[austin.h.ratcliffe170]

Oh and I'm an idiot, I don't have Cats. Completely forgot to mention that.

 

[toddturbo]

That's a crazy amount of miles! I've heard these V6's are super reliable if maintained properly. Mines sitting at 181k and I'd love to see it get a ton more. This is my first Mustang and if I'm being honest I never was super into them until I got this one. Liked the way a few models looked but just fell in love with the way this one drove.

yes if they don't have issues early on, those engines will run and run and run and run. Just don't get in a hurry. Power/torque is sufficient, but it is NOT a GT (and will never be). Keep the oil changed and a good clean air filter in it, and don't let it overheat. Should last a long time. On those cars, you can go into the cluster and see some data. Before you turn the key on, hold the odometer reset button down, then turn the key on as you are still holding it. Odometer will say "test". Let off, then you can scroll through and see some data, like engine temp digital speedometer etc. Don't rely on the DTC section for trouble codes, get forscan for that. Forscan is cheap and it works good. Look into it. Those cars, also the front calipers have a tendency to stick which is kind of "normal", but I still recommend flushing the brake fluid about once a year. Keep trans fluid changed, and change the rear diff fluid once in a while. I sure liked mine, great little car for the investment (all of $650)-and by the way, drove it home 46 miles, changed fluids/filters, and drove it all over the country. Expect 23-26mpg with automatic, 28 or so with manual.

Finally sold it, but prior I had bought a 93 mustang coupe, 2.3L/5 speed. Didn't run when I got it (but seller said it did...), anyway I got it going for the cost of a 8993 head gasket and a couple hours' labor into freeing up the stuck valves from sitting, and started driving it. Light weight in comparison to the V6 2004, and more fun to drive. So I sold the 2004 and drove the 93. 2018 I sent it in to paint shop (royal blue) and the painter kept it a YEAR and never touched it, so I rescued it and paid another guy to do it. A week after reassembly, I had someone make a stupid offer on it. The original 2.3 came out before it went to paint and I stuck a Merkur 2.3 into it, turbocharged (same as SVO 2.3), did a V6 5 speed swap (better gear ratios), tossed a set of 3.73's in it, V8 brakes, sway bars, and better springs and dampers. Fun little thing and surprisingly quick. And 31mpg. Buyer paid cash, I ran into town and ordered a 22 Ecoboost which came in last October. 10 speed auto. Used the funds to pay the Ecoboost down, left me with about $10k to pay off, which I did last month. Kinda boring with the automatic but it runs great. And 40+ mpg if you drive it right.