Well I removed the exhaust manifold cover and immediately discovered the source of my noisy exhaust leak: a snapped exhaust manifold stud. It shouldn't be hard getting it out, but what are my chances of just installing a new one, tightening it up, and eliminating the leak? Or is it more likely the gasket is also blown, or worse, the manifold surface warped? I purchased the car about 10 months ago and don't know how long it's been like this. Here's hoping for an easy fix.

 

Not sure of the year or engine.

The gasket is def toasted....as far a the manifold?? While replacing the stud and new gasket, put a straight edge on the manifold and go from there...

 

Thanks for the reply. That's pretty much what I expect. I've already bought a gasket set and have the stud on order from Honda. The manifold doesn't look hard to remove so it shouldn't be too bad a job. It's a '97 Accord 4 cyl. non-VTEC and the exhaust manifold has great accessibility (good thing it's not the intake!).