325i Exhaust Manifold Gasket

[capri_rob]

Quick one - since I bought my 325i just over a Year ago I have always thought I could smell exhaust fumes inside the car, and having given someone a lift today they commented on it after about 5 minutes in the car.

Am I right in thinking the most likely culprit is a knackered manifold gasket - being as the fumes would come from the engine bay through the ventilation system ?

Is it fairly simple to do or a pig of a job liable to end up in sheared nuts/studs that I am better giving to an exhaust place ?

The exhaust itself sounds quite fruity, but there is no rust to speak of and appears to be gas tight.

[sweep]

Do it yourself mate plenty of wire brushing on the threads and wd40,exhaust places are only good at fitting back boxs on mk3 fiestas...

[town325i]

if the manifold gasket is gone you would know about it tbh it would make a right noise but if it is starting to go it can send exhaust fumes into the car. if you need a set i have a pair of new ones you can have for free. and the studs can snap and are most likely to if they have never been moved for a long time

[furbster]

I had a blowing manifold and it sounded like a tappet noise although there were no fumes in the car and mine is totally stripped out inside so fumes would probably be more noticable.

I got mine done at a garage as the studs are prone to snapping on these engines, if they do snap it can easily turn into a head off job for the studs to be drilled out.

I'm glad I did put mine into a garage because all snapped!!

IIRC they charged me about £250 to do the job.

[town325i]

what could be causing the fumes in the car is the seals on the fuel pump cover are they perished and is the boot lid sealing properly

[capri_rob]

Boot lid seal is good as far as I know and the fuel pump seal is also good. I think I'm gonna start dousing the studs/nuts in penetrating oil over the next couple of days. Its due an MOT in the next month so if I can get the threads clean enough so they can undo the nuts without snapping the studs we should be good to go.

town I will take you up on your offer of those free gaskets - or at least give you a couple of beers for them !

[town325i]

would it be possible for you to collect them today rob im not going to be about all week

[capri_rob]

Sorry mate can't get to you today but there's no rush - if your around next weekend could pick them up then ?

[Brianmoooore]

Exhaust manifold studs are a classic case of "If it's not broke, don't fix it!"

[capri_rob]

I agree Brian - but I need to stop exhaust gases getting into the car ! Gonna get it booked in for MOT, and have a proper look underneath when its on the ramps - at least then I will be able to confirm for definite where the leak is.

[Simon13]

if you do do it, my tip is WD40 for days/weeks/years before you start and to fully warm the engine first too.

Burnt fingers are better than snapped studs. Never failed me yet and i've done loads now

[deano1351]

This is something iv needed to do on mine for ages, its already got the first and last studs snapped by a previous owner and iv bought the gaskets but i havnt got the guts to try and undo the rest, it blows ever so slightly making the tappy noise but im not getting fumes inside the car, i can just tell it will be a head off job, if it aint broke......

[Brianmoooore]

Fumes shouldn't get into the car if the manifold gasket is leaking. If they are, then there must be something wrong with a bulkhead grommet, the rear bonnet seal, or the 'elephants trunk' scuttle drain.
Simon13's method is correct and usually works, but, since you don't mention a noise, I doubt that the gasket has failed.
Do you have any broken studs at the moment?

[town325i]

rob what mot station do you use. i use a place called perkins brothers in heath hayes as he dont charge you a re test fee if the car fails and he lets you look under your car while its on the ramp without moaning like most places will

[capri_rob]

Fumes shouldn't get into the car if the manifold gasket is leaking. If they are, then there must be something wrong with a bulkhead grommet, the rear bonnet seal, or the 'elephants trunk' scuttle drain.
Simon13's method is correct and usually works, but, since you don't mention a noise, I doubt that the gasket has failed.
Do you have any broken studs at the moment?

Rear bonnet seal is good but havn't checked the "elephants trunk" or any of the other grommets - good point. Doesn't sound particularly noisy with the bonnet up but the fumes must be escaping from the exhaust somewhere other than the tailpipe to be getting into the car - mustn't they ?

[capri_rob]

rob what mot station do you use. i use a place called perkins brothers in heath hayes as he dont charge you a re test fee if the car fails and he lets you look under your car while its on the ramp without moaning like most places will

I use Uxbridge motors - they let me under the car when its on the ramps and have never charged me re-test fees - mind you I've used them to do the work the last couple of times I've had cars fail the MOT - not especially cheap but not that expensive either and they don't mind working on older stuff.

[capri_rob]

Just had a quick look - can see all the studs on the top ( under the heatshields ) are present and correct but don't know about the ones underneath - doesn't look like they've been touched for Years ! I will have a look at the others from under the car tomorrow - think I will start spraying them with WD40 daily for the next few days and try and get it in for an MOT next week - get them to check it at the same time.

Done about 250 miles in it today - apart from the fumes it was great !

[Brianmoooore]

It's unlikely that there is a leak anywhere near the front end of the exhaust if you can't hear a noise.
Manifold gasket leak makes a noise like a worn tappet at the very least.

[no2lurch]

i donmt mean to hyjack the thread, but are the heat shields and exhaust manifold gaskets the same thing? i mean are the heat shields connected to the mani gaskets?

[e30topless]

isn't 'fresh air' taken into the cabin via the vents in the scuttle panel ? wouldn't think exhaust gasses would come through those , check the bulkhead grommets as brian suggests