I was wondering if anyone had any idea how to track down an exhaust leak in a Neon. I've got a '98 DOHC, if that makes any difference. It'* been making a ticking noise for awhile now, and after having let it warm up this morning, I noticed an exhaust smell inside the car.

Kindly refrain from posting solely to make fun of my car or me for driving it. You can do that if you have some advice besides "crush it"....

I want to say that the DOHCS do not have a gasket between the head and manifold. I want to say that there is a TSB on that...not sure though.

Are you a member of neons.org per chance? My gf/roomie has a 98 that has some nagging problems, and I find that site is a wealth of info for these little cars.

Like...1st gen Neons used what was left over from the K-cars for their braking systems. May not be stated there, but I found that out on my own

Alrighty, if you say so...

My advice is to push it off a cliff then.

You should do a visual inspection of all seals, such as weatherstripping, rubber grommets, etc. one of them may be dry rotten and letting gases in the car.

Not familiar with the neon specifically, but the ticking sound and exhaust in the cabin would make me want to look for minute cracks in the exhaust manifold or at the manifold to downpipe connection.

Occasionally a 4 banger will warp the exhaust manifolds too. That happened repeatedly on a lemon-flavored Toyota I owned.

In the old days the fastest way we would check an exhaust leak was to have someone cover the rear exhaust pipe or pipes for only a short period of time, we're talking seconds, while someone checked for noise and exhaust smoke. When you cover the rear, the exhaust will go to the path of least resistance. Remember, don't cover the exhaust for any extended period of time. Depending on the size of the leak, we usually found it in about 5 minutes. Having the exhaust go back into the engine is not a good thing so be carefull on the length of time you try this. Allow time for the exhust to flow if you need to repeat the process.

I'd also say there could be cracks in the EMs.

And I wouldn't push it off a cliff. Never change the timing belt and it will destroy itself.

X2

I was just going to post this very same advice. It could also be the exhaust doughnut that goes between the downpipe and the axhaust system as mentioned too.

Thank you all! Great suggestions, and I'll get right on it this weekend