You slide into the driver’s seat and fire up your automobile. It’s another day in the office. You hear strange tapping noises coming from the engine. What could be wrong? The problem is most likely a crack in the exhaust manifold or manifold gasket. This causes the exhaust to escape out of the exhaust system. As the exhaust escapes, it makes tapping or popping noises. It may also hiss.
Rotten Performance
Unfortunately, if you drive your vehicle, you will notice that the engine is performing poorly. This is because it is filling with the exhaust that is leaking out of the manifold. Consequently, the exhaust creates problems with the combustion production in the combustion chamber. As a result, your vehicle’s acceleration and overall performance will lag.
Rotten Fuel Efficiency
If you don’t have the leaking manifold or gasket replaced as soon as possible, you will start to notice a difference in your fuel economy. We wish we could say that the economy would get better, but it won’t. Rather, the engine will consume more fuel as it struggles to run. Consequently, you will see a reduction in the fuel mileage that you get out of a full tank of gas or diesel fuel.
Burning Engine Odors
As the exhaust fills the engine, it overheats all of the engine parts. This will cause your engine’s temperature to rise, and you will smell burning odors coming from the engine. In fact, the exhaust is so hot that it can actually melt some of the engine parts. Consequently, the burning odors may get rancid and smell like plastic or rubber that is too hot.
Burning Exhaust Odors
If your vehicle’s ventilation system picks up the exhaust that is leaking out of the manifold or gasket, you may smell the exhaust inside your automobile. You don’t need us to tell you that this makes driving your vehicle dangerous. Inhaling vehicle exhaust can be deadly. Consequently, you may start to get a headache, feel nauseous, or feel fatigued while you are driving your vehicle.
Check Engine Warning
Finally, as you can see, a cracked exhaust manifold or gasket can cause a number of problems in your vehicle’s engine. As such, you may receive a check engine warning on the dashboard. The check engine warning will turn off when we replace the exhaust manifold or gasket to resolve the problems.
Give our shop a call today to set up a service visit if you believe the exhaust manifold is cracked.