Exhaust leak?

sounds like I might have an exhaust leak somewhere, when Im next to a wall or high curb I hear a weird puttering noise from under cab area. I can hear it better when excellerating. Its not that bad but what am I looking at to replace or fix this issue. Might be from the cat area not sure.

 

i had the same prob for quite a while, i had to replace my cat 1 year ago nad had exhaust done. well if your o2 sensors go bad i guess they can mess up your cat, too much fuel burns them up. i just cut my cat off and checked it out cause i was having trouble with a sound again, of course now i know about o2 sensors my cat was broken, then i made a few adjustments welded it back up and started it up and what now , that same sound, i looked at my header and saw black in the seams at the collector so i ordered a header from lcengineering.com and it was quick easy and very nice product good service, it has thick walls and flanges crush stainless headergasket much better than cheaper one i had on it like night and day with quality. i bolt it on cut my exhaust halfway to bend it line it up then weld it and now time to start it up. turn the ignition and wala after 8 months of messing with my exhaust looking for leaks cutting and wrapping my problem fixed. cats are expensive to tell you the truth i hollowed my broken 1 year old 200 dollar cat cause i wasnt going to risk spending the cash. if you have to worry about exhaust checks think twice about it

 

Damn This sounds somewhat expensive, and complicated . I guess I'll start from the O2 sensor and work my way back. Thankyou very much for your input.

 

A really simple way to find the leak is to wait until the engine is cold and get underneath and physically look for any holes. After that, start the truck up and take a bare hand and place near the exhaust (from header back) to see if you feel any air movement. You only have a limited time to do this since the exhaust gets hot. If you can pinpoint the area then you'll be closer to fixing it.

If you haven't had any exhaust work it also might be pinging from low octane gas....

 

well I bought the truck with 53k miles on it. I'll jump under there tonight to see what I can find. thanks for the tip. Just want to make sure im not losing any MPG to this issue. If its an o2 sensor I bet I am.

 

I would use a straw wisk broom to "feel" for the leak if that's what you are gonna do before I stick my hand in there. Thats what do to look fro air leaks at the plant I work in.... saves your fingers.

 

ab'solutely a great idea, I was going to use a piece of folded paper but I have an old broom that will work. Plus paper and Hot dont really go together that well.

 

I know what your talking about. All 2nd gen 4cyl do it. lol

Is it kind of like a rattling noise? Like where the cats are? Cause if it is, then its normal. I went to the dealership and sat in 3 different tacos and they all do it.

 

if your cats broken you can always bang on it and if its bad enough you will beable to tell before you tear it off.

 

yeah my 09 2.7 makes a similar sound.... has since it was new

 

Video for how to cheaply resolve exhaust leaks
https://youtu.be/N-exs1iMLFU