exhaust leak keeps coming back

Hey everybody,
I don't know what to do about this. My '94 1.8L had an exhaust leak coming from the gasket between the manifold and the front exhaust pipe when I bought the car. I replaced the gasket and it fixed the problem. But then it came back a few months later. This has happed a couple of times. I used a torque wrench to make sure it was tight enough.
Anyone have any ideas what is going on here? I want to fix it once and for all.
Thanks.

you torqued it huh? ive heard about tightening bolts on the manifolds too much. it causes the gasket to sqeeze and leak later on. this goes for oil/transmission fluid pans as well (pretty much anything with a gasket). are you sure you torqued it to the right specs?

make sure you get the pieces of old gasket off both surfaces before you put the new one in, and are you using a metal or paper gasket?

use a rubber or plastic type gasket. these will hold up longer than the metal gaskets and are relatively inexpensive.

Thanks for the input everyone,
I was torquing the bolts according to the Haynes manual specs. It is a metal gasket.
There are plastic or rubber gaskets? Wouldn't they melt? I am willing to try anything. Can I get these at an autozone or advance auto parts type store?

thats odd that a metal one keeps blowin out....there are no plastic or rubber gaskets for exhaust....only paper metal and the pressed metal donuts for inside flanges....are u tightening the bolts and the prob going away or are u replacing the gasket each time?

thanks for the info,
I have been replacing the gasket each time because it has looked kind of deteriorated. The first time, I tried to just tighten the bolts but the leak was still there until I replaced the gasket.

thanks for the info,
I have been replacing the gasket each time because it has looked kind of deteriorated. The first time, I tried to just tighten the bolts but the leak was still there until I replaced the gasket.

My gasket on my wifes car is louder when i go through rain, or snow. So it's an expansion issue. Let me know if you ever figure out how to quiet up this manifold.. Otherwise I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it. Just be carefull you dont snap off the bolts tightening them.

No, there are not rubber or plastic exhaust gaskets, not to my knowledge.

Let me ask you a few questions because I seem to be getting an exhuast leak sound on my corolla.

Do you get the exhuast leak sound constantly?

Even if you rev the engine in idle?


I seem to be having the same type of problems but I can never re-create the sound in the garage. It only happens on acceleration after a complete stop and the sound becomes very prominent when it rains and I'm driving through water/snow.

I've changed my manifold gasket and there's no difference. I've taken it to the Toyota techs to see what they find. I will let you know.

Ok, just got a call back from the Toyota folks. They are absolutely sure it's a manifold leak. It's possibly warped or there's a hairline crack somewhere. I'm ordering the parts and it's not cheap. The gaskets and manifold is 400 bucks. I'll get the parts early next week so I'll let you know what happens once I get them in place. Wish me luck.

I go to the junk yard to find these exhaust manifold gaskets. Much cheaper - $20

Ok, just got a call back from the Toyota folks. They are absolutely sure it's a manifold leak. It's possibly warped or there's a hairline crack somewhere. I'm ordering the parts and it's not cheap. The gaskets and manifold is 400 bucks. I'll get the parts early next week so I'll let you know what happens once I get them in place. Wish me luck.

I wonder if the $400.00 is for parts and labor? I agree with Bob, about going to the scrap-yard, but the Toyota people will not install used parts. And forget about doing the job myself.. there is no room to work

As for me.... I'm turning up the radio.

It seems very suspicious that all these Corollas need Manifolds and Charcoal canisters...and there is nothing we can do except fork over cash

Thanks for the help--but this is not what I wanted to hear--but now that I think about it, my problems could be caused by a warped manifold. I can't afford that fix, so maybe I will keep replacing the gasket every few months. It only costs a buck or so. Hopefully it does not get worse.