hmmm. never heard of one of those going bad. there are a couple things you should check on your own: make sure it's not leaking where the exhaust manifold connects to the exhaust pipe and: make sure it's not leaking where the manifold connects to the crossover pipe. it's difficult to get back there, but it can be done. if it's leaking up front it should be plenty obvious - it should get louder when you open the hood. if you can get under the car at all it shouldn't be hard to tell where the leak's coming from.