danny951

I really gotta get my exhaust leak under control. Headaches are coming in strong driving around with exhaust in the car and 100+ outside.

I know I have a leak somewhere that I can hear near the headers. It is worse when cold then when the engine is hot, but it's still there when hot. Thinking it's the gaskets at the headers, but not sure if all are bad or just one, or what. I'll be replacing all 4 of them. I assume I need to plan to replace studs and other hardware as well. Is there a kit out there that has everything one may need when removing/reinstalling headers on the 951? I have a two-piece crossover. Need bolts for that too?

I found the one at 944online (currently $320) -- curious about quality and if it has everything I'll need --

http://www.944online.com/cgi-bin/ASI...ystem-944turbo

Hardware: "Complete exhaust hardware kit for your 944 Turbo. Does not include the exhaust studs or the turbocharger studs. These are 10.9 grade and are zinc coated"
Gaskets: "Includes all of the seal rings and gaskets needed for the exhaust system on your 944 Turbo."

I don't know how hardware is graded, or what a 10.9 means. Anyone used these or know of a better set / deal?

Crackership

Call Travis at Rennbay for the hardware and gaskets. Are you sure you don't have a crack in the header/x-over?

jerome951

The studs are still probably fine. You'll want new nuts & bolts for attaching the header to the X-over (these tend to rust badly). You'll also need new crush rings for the header<>X-over connection.

As Crackership mentioned, test the headers for cracks while you have them off. When I suspected a leak, I somewhat sealed 1 end then filled with water. I had water exiting between the jacket and flange indicating a leak.

The common hardware grades you'll find on these cars is 8.8, 10.9, and 12.9. 10.9 will work fine for exhaust applications. That 944Online kit has a lot of stuff you won't need for just removing & reinstalling your headers. It appears they have other job-specific kits so give them a call. Ian or Jaime will set you up with what you need.

Tom M'Guinn

You might want to locate the leak before spending money on parts -- compressed air up the tail pipe can help you find them (or a leaf blower as a creative friend recently used...).

In the meantiime the little air circulation button on the dash realy helps to keep the fumes out of the cabin!

Jeff N.

Put duct tape over the passenger side blower vent intake under the cowl (by the battery) in the short term to control fumes. Really helps keep them out of the cabin.

Tom M'Guinn

Even better. Good call...

zerMATT951

That kit is overkill for what you need. I wouldn't buy this unless you really need those exhaust hanger brackets and rubber pieces. Look at their other kits, because you will want all new nuts & bolts for the crossover connection, plus new nuts (copper clad) for the exhaust manifold to head connections.

Let me know if you want to come over this weekend for a close-up look at any of these parts on my car. I don't have the cam tower or intake manifold on, so everything is easy to see, and I have all of the old parts kicking around if you want to see what they might look like once you dig in. I'm in Crowley.

zerMATT951

10.9 is an ASTM "hardness" grade for metric fasteners with a correlating Rockwell hardness rating. It's similar to SAE fasteners that have little lines (none, 3, 6, etc) to indicate hardness. In a nutshell, 10.9 grade is good stuff and required or recommended for most of the fasteners on these cars.

More reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASTM_F568M

danny951

Thanks for the great info guys. I'm going to cover the cowl for now until I can get in there and test for leaks. I have a compressor, so from what you guys are saying, I can just fill the exhaust from the tailpipe (with the car off) and check for leaks. Seems easy enough.

zerMATT951

Minor correction - 8.8 is correct for most fasteners in these cars, but stepping up to 10.9 or even 12.9 in a few critical areas is also a good idea.

ritzblitz

You can also use antiseize on the nuts.