Generally, the exhaust manifold will last the life of your Volkswagen, but there are times when the manifold can crack or the gasket that seals the manifold can crack. East Coast EuroWerks can help if this happens to your VW or other European automobile. Give us a call if you notice any of the following performance problems when you drive your Volkswagen.
Lagging Performance
If the manifold is cracked, your VW’s engine performance will lag. The reason why is that the engine will fill with the exhaust gases that are leaking out of the manifold. The same happens if the exhaust manifold gasket is cracked. The exhaust gases prevent efficient combustion in the combustion chamber. Consequently, your VW will struggle to run while you drive it.
Poor Fuel Economy
This struggle leaves you with poor fuel economy on top of the poor engine performance. It’s like rubbing salt into a wound. Aside from feeling as if your VW isn’t going to get you where you need to go, you will also have to make more stops at the service station to keep the tank full. With gas prices what they are these days, this can leave you in deep trouble with your household budget.
Loud Tapping Noises
One surefire clue that the exhaust manifold or gasket is leaking is hearing loud tapping or hissing noises when you first start your VW. The noise that you hear is the exhaust escaping out of the cracked manifold or gasket. You may continue to hear this noise as you drive the VW. If so, you may have a crack that is too large to seal when the manifold expands when it gets hot.
Burning Engine Odors
Naturally, this leaking exhaust is going to heat up the engine in your VW. In fact, the exhaust is so hot that it will melt rubber and plastic parts. It will also overheat the metal parts, which will cause the needle on the temperature gauge to rise into the red or too hot zone. Don’t drive your Volkswagen if the engine is overheating. An engine that is too hot likely cracked the manifold in the first place.
Check Engine Light Warning
Finally, the above problems will be accompanied by a CEL warning on the dashboard. Because the exhaust manifold or gasket is leaking hot exhaust into the engine, the various system sensors will report malfunctions to the main computer chip and it will turn on the CEL.
East Coast EuroWerks in Wilmington, NC, can help, so give us a call today if you think you’ve got a cracked exhaust manifold in your VW.
