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So about four months ago I noticed a rather loud exhaust leak coming from the vicinity of my exhaust mnaifold. At the time, I was getting into the suspension bushing replacement business, and this exhaust leak was put on the back burner. But now the time has come to fix the dang thang.
My car is a 1982 turbo; it has had the turbo replaced with a water-cooled one, and a factory intercooler installed. I have read about turbo exhaust manifolds cracking; however, I don't believe this is the case. Reason: One day, first thing, I started the engine and felt all around the manifold to try and isolate the leak. Eventually I found it - I could feel the exhaust gasses shooting forward from the #1 exhaust runner.
A side note, some of you may remember: I also noticed that the exhaust gasses were shooting right onto the cam belt cover... and these gasses were so hot that they had melted away about a 1 sq inch area of the cover!
Anyway, I have finally gotten around to attacking this problem (I've been driving the "spare car" for a while - I've put a total of only about 500 miles on the Volvo in 4 months..!). Today I got the exhaust manifold loose from the head, and sure enough, the gasket on the #1 exhaust port has a large section missing, on the forward side.
Ok, to the question(s):
Is there a common point at which the manifold cracks? Like I said, I don't think there is a crack, but just in case, is there a specific area where should I look?
Assuming the manifold is ok, and all I have to do is replace the gaskets, I plan on "just" pulling the manifold away from the engine enough to get the old gaskets out and the new in. Anybody done this? Will the oil supply line to the turbo prevent me from doing this? And I suppose I should replace the oil supply line (and return line) now anyway, right?
Point of note: As I was removing the exhaust nuts from the studs, two of the studs came out. This is no problem; I know what to do. But how about this: Should I remove all the studs? A bit risky, perhaps, but then I'd only have to pull the manifold away from the head about 1/2" (or less maybe) to slip the nes gaskets in... then the studs could be re-fitted, and the nuts tightened. Or is this too much of a risk?
BTW - Since the cam belt cover has been melted (necessitating its replacement), I believe it's probably a good idea to replace the cam belt, too (it was last changed 15,000 miles ago - front seals, too). I guess this would also be a good time to replace the tensioner, right? Anything else?
TIA.
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