Hi,

I've had what appears to be an exhaust leak (light ticking under load at about 2krpm, when fully warmed up (quiet when cold)). There is also the smell of exhaust around the engine at startup.

The car is a 1989 760GLE / B280F w/ 254,715km.

I replaced the manifold-to-head gaskets a few days ago as they were leaking. The noise has improved, but is still present.
I've come to the conclusion that it must be the manifold-down pipe flange joints, as I had problems getting them aligned when I was putting everything back together. There is no gasket in these, just a tapered metal-metal fit using the two-bolt flange clamp.
I've tried numerous times since to get them seated properly, but even now the noise is still present (albeit subdued).
Now, my question is... has anyone encountered this kind of problem before? How would I go about fixing it? The pipe is not rusted out or anything. Could bad motor mounts cause this misalignment? They "appear" to be ok, though maybe slightly compressed. I have determined that the sound is definately exhast, not knocking or tappet noise.

Thanks,

Tim, Australia