exhaust problems :(

[vair_17]

so my golf3 has an exhaust tick i have narrowed it down to the far cylinder on the drivers side its a 1.8 acc motor only in canada its mono-montronic and the exhaust mani is right below the intake manifold and right between the firewall; anyone taken the manifold off before and can give me some advice?
thanks in advance

[Mrk_Mickey]

When you say tick, it makes your problem sound like a noisy tappet...is that what it is?

[Jarred]

could be a crack in the exh mani, also makes a ticking noise. progressively (over a fair preiod of time) it should get louder as the crack/hole gets bigger and the exhaust leak becomes greater.

[peedman]

My guess is its a rattling heat shield. Taking the exhaust manifold is not easy esp due to the poor access and the intake manifold on the same side. I remember trying to do it on a 2.0L and rounding a few of the bolts because they were rusted and stuck on real tight. My tip is make sure its the exhaust manifold first before u take it off!

[gldgti]

so my golf3 has an exhaust tick i have narrowed it down to the far cylinder on the drivers side its a 1.8 acc motor only in canada its mono-montronic and the exhaust mani is right below the intake manifold and right between the firewall; anyone taken the manifold off before and can give me some advice?
thanks in advance

you can get the manifold of most easily by taking off the intake manifold first - if you do it its a reasonable job. ensure that you have diagnosed the problem correctly, do your best to find evidence of exhaust leakage. you wouldnt hurt anything by tipping some water over it on a cold startup (just the suspect end of hte exhaust manifold) and you may spot it. check visually all the exhaust studs, make sure they are all there (i've had them rattle out). do you have duel downpipe or single - might be one of the downpipes has a crack - simple weld job for an exhaust shop.

HTH.