RE: 200Q Exhaust Leak

[Randy McCall <randym@schiller.com>]

I had a shop tell me that the barely audible noise I was hearing on start 
up was an exhaust leak and that I might want to "check it out".  When I 
attempted to tighten the nut on #1 cylinder the stud snapped immediately. 
 That led me down the slippery slope to manifold removal - cracked in 
several places, 5 broken studs, and R&R of the head for repair (but I did 
it myself).  Others on the list have noted that Audi considers the manifold 
an expendable component, and based on my experiences I would have to agree 
completely.  On a positive note, replacement of the one piece swiss cheese 
manifold with a gas tight two piece has led to noticeable improvements in 
driveability. While only subjective, the car just works better and the 
engine pulls strongly through the RPM range with no hint of hesitation. 
Btw, the exhaust gaskets were toast, but that wasn't the real problem.

-Randy

'90 200TQ  86K, 1.8bar