Thread: 202 extractors.

Is it possible that my exhaust is leaking from the head gasket? The manifold and head look fine and I put a new exhaust gasket in to no avail. Thoughts?

If your motor is together and running hold a small strip of paper in long nose pliers and hold it near any suspected gasket leak. It should flutter where the leak is. To test the head gasket do a compression test. You sould hear the gasket whistle if it is blown out.

I know where the leak is but the exhaust manifold and head gasket are very close, when I rev it I can actually see the flames coming out near the front of the manifold. So I'm not sure wether to take the head off to check if there's a passage blown out there

I dont have the tools to do a compression test

Originally Posted by Chomby

I dont have the tools to do a compression test

Pass/fail test: finger on plug hole. Or put 1 plug in at a time and crank it. Sus cylinder won't slow the cranking as much and may whistle. Probably best with manifolds off.

Originally Posted by Chomby

Looking for some extractors to suit a red 202. My current manifold appears to have cracked or isn't holding flat any longer and turned my series into what sounds like a steam powered vehicle (or at speed a Harley) if no one has any I might just try and weld it shut but I've been meaning to find some extractors and this seems to be a good excuse

I wouldn't use extractors unless it's the last option. Your under bonnet temps will be a lot higher as the extractors dissipate heat much easier than a cast manifold. For the little gain from using them I would stick with the OEM manifold. If you have tried a new exhaust gasket and it still leaks I would check the flatness of the manifold sealing surface with a straight edge. It may have distorted a bit over the years. This can be corrected with a surface grind. If you can see flames it will be the exhaust gasket, not the head.

No point in having extractors unless you have three carbs, big valves, ports cleaned out and the centre posts removed, and a suitable camshaft.

Get the GM-H cast iron twin headers, and run separate 2 1/4" systems all the way out to the back. All you need for a fast street engine.

Also, if you think sealing the manifold is tough now, a set of extractors will generally make things harder. Most of the cheaper extractors have a thinner face plate than the factory manifold, and you get a height difference between the extractors and the inlet manifold. You may end up having to use spacers, washers and such to get enough tension on them to seal correctly.

Also, some cheap aftermarket manifold gaskets are crap, and will never seal. Get a genuine one, they seal much better.

Cheers - Gav

So I figured the problem out, can anyone else guess what it is?

image-736373256.jpg

All back together and working great now, much quieter too.