Ok, my 06 has 15,000 miles on it and about 5000 ago I put on the Flowmaster American Thunder cat back system. Truck sounds great but have been noticing on occassion that there is an exhaust leak comming from the front pass. side of the engine compartment.
After much diagnosing, i have discovered that there is indeed a leak (very pronounced at cold start-up than seems to go away untill you romp on it with my bad a.s Troyer tunes then it can really be heard.) The leak is where the exhaust manifold bolts onto the collector pipe on the exhaust. Their is a gap of about 1/8" - 3/16" there only on the outside nearest the tire for roughly an inch or so that blows a bunch of exhaust out at startup.
So my issue is this......A while back I had my truck into the dealer for the downshift delay issue that has come out now in a TSB and they blamed the entire issue on the fact that I had installed the cat back on there with an airaid intake. Wrote it all over the service order along with the fact they had to clear out a 1000 (loss of power) code meaning It may have had a tuner hooked up prior to being brought in. We all know this is BS but that was their claim.
Now do I take my truck back in as it still has 21,000 miles in remaining warranty and argue with that jackass or is there something I can do myself to fix this? Im quite handy and would prefer the later as I dont enjoy dealing with their BS down there. I do not see any "doughnut" gasket like the older models used.
Any imput is more than welcome!
Gordon

 

just an FYI for all you fellow aftermarket exhaust guys.......3 different cent. Texas ford houses and all 3 laughed me out the door for wanting then to fix an exhaust leak ay the manifold/collector (that has never been touched) after having installed a cat back. they even went as far as stating that any future pollution, engine, exhaust or computer related issues will not be corrected due to this situation. 21,000 miles of warranty remaining for nothing. Pretty ****ty!
Gordon

 

are the two bolts rotted away on the collector flange?? those are a pain in the *** to drill out if you cant get a wrench on there. no donuts on my 97. those bolts have to be torqued down good.

 

No, the two bolts are still in fine shape with very little rust. I have them soaking with pb blaster right now....its raining so when it finally stops and dries up I will try to loosen the inside bolt and go up on the outside one where the leak is. If this doesnt fix it I guess its off to the muffler shop to pay them to do it.
Gordon

 

just make sure the bolts are tightened up evenly so the flange sits flat. it doesnt take much for it a leak if both arent torqued evenly.

 

Where bout in Texas are you dude?

 

Hey Sarge, Im halfway between Austin and San Antonio. Know of someone who will/can fix it?
Gordon

 

Sorry state of affairs ford is in but you have wasted a bunch of warranty with those mods hope you don't have any real engine issues can get very expensive although ford has to prove your mods are what caused the problem but they will stonewall you for a long time and blame all the mods.

 

Yeah, Truck runs so much better now that its worth it. If I have a major issue then I will get the stock crap reinstalled. Just need to get this collector leak taken care of....its like nails on the chalkboard! Any excuse to keep from fixing their sorry QC issues.
Gordon

 

Thought id post an update........I heated the flange and thought I had it closed up enough to stop the leak but it is still there. I went to the muffler shop today and the guy there told me that it is aginst the law for him to mess with the leak on my truck while its under factory warranty as that warranty is implimented by the federal government and ford is obligated to them to fix it as part of the emmissions stuff. Soooooo I called the service manager at the dealership I bought the truck at (along with the previous 3) and told him my issue and how his service writer laughed and said warranty was void beacuse of the flowmaster and he has me an appointment to come in next week and says that the addition of a muffler way back there shouldnt have had anything to do with a leak at the collector. Maybe, possabley, just maybe they can see the light that it is nothing I did and will take care of it. Ill keep yall updated.
Gordon

 

How about a torch and a coat hanger.

 

That very thought crossed my mind. I have seen my dad close up some pretty big gaps that very way. Question is.......would the coathanger stick to the manifold surface like it would the exhaust pipe? If ford hoses me that may be next......i have some sheets of lead flashing too, thought about chinking some of that in the gap but think the melting temp would be too low.
Gordon

 

Gawd,... I wish we could take a torch and a hanger to these bozo's at the dealerships!

Let us know how it turns out.

Good Luck!