1998 S70 GLT Exhaust Leak

ferocity02 · Post by **ferocity02** » 09 Nov 2015, 16:10

My 98 S70 GLT has developed an exhaust leak. It started about 8 months ago and hasn't really gotten any louder over time. Unfortunately it's only audible when under load. At idle felt around all of the joints and could not feel any leak. Nor could I see any soot from a leak.

Looking at diagrams online I see that there are 4 gaskets: engine block to manifold, manifold to turbo, turbo to downpipe, and a gasket between the front and rear exhaust sections. Are any other these particularly prone to failure? All of my car's issues have been common issues with this platform, so I am hoping I can use this history to help narrow my search.

Are any of these gaskets simple or a pain to replace? The block to manifold gaskets I'm sure are a nightmare... how about the others? I'm all about preventive maintenance and will gladly replace gaskets if they are cheap and easy to get to.

The car has 188k miles on it.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 09 Nov 2015, 19:35

Typically there is no gasket between the catalytic converter section and the muffler section. It is a funky ball and socket joint that has a pair of special clamps that pinch it together. That joint is the one that is most prone to failure but it is typically the clamps rot but not the pipes if it is in that area.

Any time you need to deal with the clamps they should be replaced and they do not come in pairs under the part number. You need to order two of them but both of them have the same part number.

...Lee

ferocity02 · Post by **ferocity02** » 09 Nov 2015, 23:06

Ozark Lee wrote:Typically there is no gasket between the catalytic converter section and the muffler section. It is a funky ball and socket joint that has a pair of special clamps that pinch it together. That joint is the one that is most prone to failure but it is typically the clamps rot but not the pipes if it is in that area.

Any time you need to deal with the clamps they should be replaced and they do not come in pairs under the part number. You need to order two of them but both of them have the same part number.

...Lee

Lee, thanks for the tip. I'm not sure where I saw that gasket. I'll check out the ball joint and clamps.

Post by **benpineapple** » 11 Nov 2015, 13:35

Usually the most annoying thing when replacing gaskets is separating exhaust sections. Bolts are 90% of the time frozen in place due to extreme heat that they are subjected to. Soak any nuts and bolts thoroughly with PB blast.

ferocity02 wrote:At idle felt around all of the joints and could not feel any leak.

You might not have a bad exhaust gasket somewhere then. You also mentioned car is louder when under load, this could mean that the leak is farther back in the system. Is it possible to tell where (ish) the leak is coming from based on which section seems loudest? My V70 has a leak towards one of the rear mufflers. I had a friend punch the throttle in idle while I stood outside the car to listen for which part is noisiest.