figured i would start a new thread and let you know how i make out. when making the appt for this coming monday i asked about any updates on the exhaust manifold. i was told it was a hardware upgrade only. will let you guys know the results....hopefully monday evening unless they have a hard time with any of the studs.
jim

 

hah, welcome to my world. Had to resurface the manifold 4 times. I have another leak...yippee

 

i just got home and all is quiet! no noise like a bad valve and it seems to actually perform better. 35k on the clock, so time will tell. it was a broken manifold caused by the hardware loosening up, if i understand correctly.
jim