Ticking - exhaust leak, what's the harm? (2 Viewers)

[Chaser503]

Have isolated the ticking sound to an exhaust manifold leak. Spark plugs torqued to 18 ft/lbs and it persists. Ticking started after shop repaired blown plug/coil. I'm reasonably confident they reused the manifold gasket when they put it back together but it could legitimately be a leak in the manifold. 233k miles.

At any rate, other than the ticking sound, which is slightly annoying, is there harm in not repairing?

Thanks

 

[GerLC100]

Not sure what it can cause, but I had a ticking on a different vehicle and it came from (well known for this engine) broken manifold studs...
checked them?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Yes. Your o2 sensors won't be getting a true picture of the exhaust gases which can throw them off, throw off your ECU, etc.

 

[Trapper50cal]

Make sure it's not loose spark plugs.

Ticking time bomb TICK TICK TICK: Spark plugs Alert Alert Alert!

TICK TICK TICK POP POP POP is a ticking time bomb, often mistaken as exhaust manifold crack or gasket leak leak. ALERT, ALERT, ALERT: Spark plugs are working themselves loose. "Walking Out" Then blowing out of head, taking their female threads of head with them! Very damaging! You think TICK...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[SteveH]

Does the noise go away when the engine is warm or hot? Mine did on an older Tundra (4.7). I never did a thing about it.

 

[Chaser503]

Have checked torque on spark plugs every 3k miles for last 10k or so. Always at 18 ft/lbs

Sound does not go away when engine warms up

I do think its exhaust manifold

Other than throwing off ECU and affecting MPGs or whatever, is there lasting damage for leaving the leak and ignoring the ticking sound?

Thanks!

 

[NE Snowman]

Drove my 2UZ 4R 2005 w/exhaust tick for…5 years, sold it with it. Never had a problem, never threw a cel for cats either. It was pretty loud and annoying but with the condition of the frame on that truck I wasn’t throwing $2k at it until it gave me real problems. YMMV

I guess the bigger concern would be the exhaust tick hiding a loose spark plug. I didn’t know 2Uz were prone to backing out till I was on Mud frequently. T4R never seemed to have many problems with that while I had my Runner.

 

[nissanh]

Make sure you have the cowl-to-hood seal ($19 at partsouq). Mine was missing for past 7 years and glad I got the ticking exhaust sound fixed a few years back, otherwise I would be pulling exhaust into the cabin when HVAC go into fresh air mode.

The seal must come out when doing the windshield and the installer may not install the seal when they install the cowl.

 

[mizzle415]

I let a manifold leak go for several years. I ended up with a bad cat on that same bank. Not totally sure the manifold leak was the cause, but I do suspect it. California Cat was like $1500