Developed a exhaust leak, of course when miles away from home. Drove a few short trips that way, before deciding it was time to fix it.

Took the intake & exhaust off today, and there is evidence on the head of an exhaust leak on #6. Funny, it exactly matches a hairline crack in the same place on the manifold...

None of the bolts seemed under/over tightend, so that's not what did it.

My buddy has a scope, and I'm going to try to check condition of the valve. I'm really hoping it's not burned. If so, the head has to come off too.

I have a spare manifold and bought gaskets, but need to check the manifold for flatness. If everything's OK, I'll put her back together this weekend.

Fun, fun, fun!

You can check the cylinder by doing a compression test. If the pressure is the same as the other cylinders its oke.

I have used my Compression tester plug with an air compressor to test leaks in cylinders. If you dont have that kind of compression tester, you can punch the internals out of a spark plug and fit a hose to that. I can post photos later. On the smart phone now.

The test is simple, just turn engine to tdc on that cylinder, transmission in top gear, handbrake on, conect air compressor the spark plug hole. Listen at the oil filler cap, intake and exhaust. Try a couple of other cylinders to get and idea of what it sounds like.

Chas

Thanks for the tip. I have a mechanic's grade compression tester and will check it tomorrow.

If all is OK, she should be back on the road by next Sunday.