Community Forums

Floridakamper · 10-12-2013, 05:23 AM

Just got back home from our summer trip up the east coast. I think I may have an exhaust manifold leak. In traffic, when not moving I smell exhaust in the coach, engine sounds louder at idle and when first accelerating, I think I have a loss of power and gas mileage seems to have dropped by about .5 mpg. I didn't want to mess with it while on the road because at highway speeds everything seemed normal. If my guesstimate sounds correct, what is the best way for me to determine if it is the exhaust manifold. I thought I'd remove the dog house. It appears there are heat shield over the manifold that probably have to be removed. I'd look at the manifold for signs of a leak from the top and from underneath and then run the engine and check again. I've received great help here with other issues, so before I start wanted to get some advice from folks who have already been down this path. Thanks in advance.

bowpulpit · 10-12-2013, 05:46 AM

I just had the same problem.....didnt smell exhaust fumes but I could hear the leak. I removed the doghouse and with the engine running found a leak at the very rear on the passenger side.
Fixing this is above my pay grade so I took it to Appalachee RV in Auburn GA for repair. Turns out 3 of the EM studs had broke. In addition the EM gasket had blown out in this spot too. When I took the MH in I told them I've heard horror stories of the studs breaking during removal. When I picked it up I asked about this and they told me they soaked each stud with some kind of penetrate for two days during which they ran the engine up to operating temp a couple times then let it cool down. They said all stud removed without breaking which was a relief to hear. I guess the combination of the penetrate and the expansion/contraction helped break the studs loose.
They replaced all 8 studs and put in a new gasket. Cost over $1200 (mostly labor) but thanks to Good Sam ESP my out of procket was my $250 deductible.
Before fixing this I too had a drop in mileage so will check on our next trip to see if it's improved. Good luck with yours and let us know what you find.

Mystery · 10-12-2013, 05:58 AM

This past winter there was a ticking when the engine first started and when it warmed up the ticking ceased. It was a cracked exhaust manifold. The cat tech told me that in rv's with side radiators it is not uncommon bc the majority of the manifold is on the opposite side of the block from the fan. Anyway, glad I had Good SAMs. Safe travels!

Floridakamper · 10-12-2013, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowpulpit

Turns out 3 of the EM studs had broke. In addition the EM gasket had blown out in this spot too. When I took the MH in I told them I've heard horror stories of the studs breaking during removal. When I picked it up I asked about this and they told me they soaked each stud with some kind of penetrate for two days during which they ran the engine up to operating temp a couple times then let it cool down. They said all stud removed without breaking.

You said 3 studs were broken but they all came out. I guess there was still a lot of stud remaining and they used double nuts or vise grips. And $1200 sounds like a BIG price for the job. I would have thought for that or a little more you could have put headers on. But I don't know what I'm talking about most of the time, that's why I'm asking here.

bowpulpit · 10-13-2013, 05:36 AM

Floridakammper......Yes $1200 is a lot of money but at $100/hr labor it doesn't take long to rack up a bill like this. Again thank goodness I had Good Sam ESP so my out of pocket was only $250.00.
Good thought about the three that had broke. I did not ask them but I have to assume there was enough of the stud remaining that they were able to grab on and get it out. They did not say they had to drill or use an "easy out" which is why I'm making this assumption.

"007" · 10-13-2013, 05:53 AM

Had the passenger manifold remounted this spring by a friend for $1000.
All the studs broke off at head and no matter how much penetrating oil used studs would not move.
He had to drill all except for one that was broken but turned out easily, because it was my anti-freeze leak I had since the coach was new, seems like when drilling the head someone went to deep into head for stud.
He removed stud and anti came squirting out of the hole.

Floridakamper · 10-13-2013, 08:19 AM

Now that we're home, I"ve got a few "honey do's" to take care of at the house before I get to the EM leak but it's never out of my thoughts. The house took an electrical surge while we gone so I'm replacing the damaged items. On my EM possible leak, I hear it on the passenger side also and that seems to be the place folks had their failure.

codgerbill · 10-14-2013, 05:53 AM

I recently had the coach in to a Workhorse facility (Cummins/Bridigeway, Novi Michigan) to fix an AC problem. The tech called me to explain that the exhaust manifold(s) was warped. I recently had done some extensive rustproofing to the compartment metal work and had noticed the metal on the mufflers was flaking off. At the point where the tech mentioned the warped manifold it was kinda a "no brainer" to go with the Banks Powerpack. The replacement cost for original equipment manifolds was (so sayeth the Workorse tech) about $400 less than a banks power pack.The only downside was that I did not have time to shop around to find a better price on the Banks stuff.

Floridakamper · 10-14-2013, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codgerbill

The replacement cost for original equipment manifolds was (so sayeth the Workorse tech) about $400 less than a banks power pack.

Do you remember what the cost was for the Banks system. I think I read that with Banks you can get just the headers or the whole system.

codgerbill · 10-14-2013, 09:28 AM

The Banks Powerpack with Ram Air (according to the invoice) was $2549. There were a several manifold broken bolts that had to be extracted ( think the tech said there were at least four broken ones and they had to re tap the holes). I had the spark plugs and spark plug wires replaced. I also had the fuel filter replaced (had the new kit that allows for a cheaper and easily located fuel filter too). I also had an oxygen sensor replaced as well as the generator serviced (it had a fuel leak and they put an updated replacement package on it). Total cost was $4,898.

Floridakamper · 10-14-2013, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codgerbill

Total cost was $4,898.

Thank you for the numbers. Scary numbers but thanks for preparing me.

codgerbill · 10-14-2013, 01:27 PM

Today 04:11 PM
Floridakamper
Quote:
Originally Posted by codgerbill View Post
Total cost was $4,898.
Thank you for the numbers. Scary numbers but thanks for preparing me.

If you have time you might want to call these guys Banks Power. I also heard that if camping world has a sale on them you can get a pretty good deal. The techs at Cummins/Bridigeway, Novi Michigan installed mine in one day. They started on it in the morning and I picked it up in the late afternoon. They put 4 guys on it and they had prior experience installing the Banks systems.

Floridakamper · 10-15-2013, 08:06 AM

Maybe I'm trying to make a problem where there isn't one. I took the dog house off today and first looked for signs of a leak. I did see some white residue just aft of the manifold on the passenger side. I put a wrench of the EM nuts just to see if the studs appeared to be broken. They were not. Then I started the engine and looked closely at both sides from the dog house and from each wheel well. I don't see anything obviously wrong. Should I be doing anything else to check this? Folks that have found a problem, what did it look like? Thanks to all.

Floridakamper · 10-15-2013, 11:00 AM

Mr. Google and Youtube suggest using a Mechanic's Stethescope, while having someone use a rag to restrict exhaust at the tail pipe. I'm going to try this before I quit looking.