Exhaust leak

[chockwald]

On our trip to Creede, CO I noticed that the coolant temps were running higher than normal, maybe 5-6 degrees. As I shared in one of my "Creede Diaries" posts Tom suggested cleaning off the radiator, which we did, and the temps went back to normal. I wrote off the grime on the engine side of the radiator as just due to 12,000 miles of road gunk collecting on the radiator fins. When I got home I was checking the oil level in my oil resevoir, which I access through a small door on the left side of the radiator, and I noticed what appeared to be a breach in the flex tubing that connects the exhaust manifold with the exhaust pipe. Upon closer inspection the breach appeared to be quite large. Hmmmmm....that's what caused all that grime to build up so quickly! I purchased some new flex tubing from Ryder Fleet Products, and will make the repair today. Pictures to follow. I only needed about 3 linear feet, but the shortest length I could purchase of the 5" diameter flex tubing was 10 linear feet for $42, so if anyone else developes this same issue, I've got you covered!

[prairieschooner]

I'll take a good look at mine later today or tomorrow. Since ours are so close I may be developing a similar issue.
Thanks for the "heads up"

[chockwald]

OK, here are some pictures. As ususal I neglected to take pictures of how it looked before I demo'd the bad flex tubing out, but you'll get the idea. I thought this would be a 1, or 2 hour job, but of course the Hockwald way is to take 6 hours, and 2 trips to Autozone. The bottom of the flex tubing was attached to the exhaust/muffler with a large U bolt, but the sleeve had "fused" with the metal of the exahust pipe, so it was stuck. The upper part was welded to the pipe coming out the engine. Luckily my mechanic was open (just around the corner....I store my Newell in his overflow, fenced lot). I drove the motorhome over there and he used an air chisel to free up the lower part, and a sawsall to cut the welded part off the top. I then drove back and cut the new piece of flex tubing (21" to be exact, so I still have 8 feet!) and installed it. Came out pretty good, and I'm rather pleased with the end result, but man was I dirty...should taken a self portait...my wife said I had a mono-brow from touching my forehead with filthy hands...LOL!

[chockwald]

Here are the rest of the pix...

[zcasa]

Nice work, Clarke. You took several less trips to Auto Zone than my last project required. lol.