Exhaust sounds different

[David T]

[QUOTE=DMCMW Dave;210909]

I don't think I've EVER seen heads damaged due to this to the point of needing to be resurfaced. The manifolds, however, must be resurfaced any time you do this job.

If you take it to a local shop be really sure that they know what they are doing. Don't let them take shortcuts such as skipping the manifold resurface or only doing one side. Make sure that they are comfortable extracting broken studs and doing thread repair in blind holes. If the job is done incorrectly it won't last very long. If they run a drill or tap through a stud hole in the head you'll end up with coolant or oil leaks.

Rare to see erosion on the heads probably for 2 reasons. One, most Deloreans don't get that many miles on them and two, the noise becomes so annoying that you won't let it get that bad. With cast iron manifolds and aluminum heads, the heads will take the brunt of the erosion.
As for all of the caveats of being careful, any good shop should be able to do this, none of it is peculiar to Deloreans. It all depends on what "good" means. Good means a shop that has done this kind of work before on other make cars of similar design (cast iron manifolds and aluminum heads). One way to find a good shop is to talk to other owners of classic cars. In any big city there is usually a "go to" place that everyone knows by reputation. If you really can't find a place then you are stuck having to travel. Do NOT choose a place by price, pick a place based on quality. It will cost you a LOT more than what you could save if the job gets screwed up. Even if the job gets screwed up all is not lost. It just becomes a bigger job since you will remove the cylinder heads and either repair them or replace them.

[mr_maxime]

Found a well reviewed mechanic that referred me to another shop named Hesco Automotive which specializes in classic and exotic cars. They told me they could do this job and replace my leaking crankshaft seal. I ordered the complete SS kit from PJ grady since I have an aversion to putting any plain steel back onto the car.

[mr_maxime]

It was not the manifold gaskets. I had a fairly hefty labor bill to have them done which included drilling out some bolts connecting the exhaust together as well as getting my crankshaft seal done. Granted, I couldn't have avoided the a lot of the labor considering they had to remove parts of the exhaust to do the crankshaft seal.

Anyways, it is the front pipe that's leaking. Hindsight is 20/20 but it really sucks to have been stuck with such a massive bill without fixing the problem and not being able to use those labor dollars towards a performance exhaust.

[David T]

It was not the manifold gaskets. I had a fairly hefty labor bill to have them done which included drilling out some bolts connecting the exhaust together as well as getting my crankshaft seal done. Granted, I couldn't have avoided the a lot of the labor considering they had to remove parts of the exhaust to do the crankshaft seal.

Anyways, it is the front pipe that's leaking. Hindsight is 20/20 but it really sucks to have been stuck with such a massive bill without fixing the problem and not being able to use those labor dollars towards a performance exhaust.

So much for a "well reviewed" mechanic. He should have been able to tell if it was a manifold gasket or a pipe leaking.

[eight8toy]

May I ask how much the labor bill came out to for the main crankshaft seal? I'm currently trying to tackle mine and was curious if it was worth the trouble. I really need an impact wrench!

[mr_maxime]

So much for a "well reviewed" mechanic. He should have been able to tell if it was a manifold gasket or a pipe leaking.

To be fair, I told him the gaskets were leaking and to replace them. It was after they took it for a test drive that they noticed the leak was actually from the front pipe. I should have told them to inspect it first.

Main crankshaft seal labor came at around $530 including associated labor. It was $117.18 for the seal and sleeve alone if you tow it in with the fascia and exhaust removed.

[mr_maxime]

Here was the damn problem

[DMC5180]

I have too say, that’s the first time I’ve seen that bellow joint fail. I always wondered how long they would hold up. I’m sure the shops that work Deloreans full time, see it on rare occasion but don’t talk much about it.


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[David T]

Because they so rarely fail, my guess is that at some point in the past that joint was damaged by mishandling. Is there any history of work done on the exhaust?

[mr_maxime]

I hadnt seen any in the paperwork I had. Unless the shop broke it during the gasket job I had done, I can't see a specific reason how it would have been mishandled before that.

Other thing i can think of is the time I drove over a chunk of semi tire. It bent a horn bracket and someone knocked the ignition coil wire out of the connector. May have also hit the exhaust.