Long story short, I hit a raised sewer cap a few weeks back that created a pretty big exhaust leak on my j-pipe. Ordered my new rv6 V3 and installed on Friday night. Big leak is gone, but now I still hear another leak that makes a whistling sound whenever I let off the gas. I also get a puff of smoke (exhaust I'm assuming) when I roll up to a red light after some miles of driving. Could my exhaust manifold have cracked after the hit to my j-pipe took? Also, my car has 42,xxx on it and after the install of the j-pipe, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears are all slipping a bit. Could this all be related to this leak somewhere or did this all just happen at the same time unfortunately? I know the two are more than likely unrelated, I'm just trying to come to grips that this all happened at once. I've only put 5,000 on my car since I bought it and 42,000 is way to soon for my clutch to go out. Are there any prone areas where our manifold may crack? Of course the leak is originating from the back side of the motor...

 

Gears don't slip. They either engage or they don't. I suspect you meant your clutch and not your gears.

Look for oil leaks from the engine and transaxle areas. If the clutch just started to slip right after incident, then you probably have a problem either in the clutch itself or more likely the hydraulic control components. BTW, our engines don't have exhaust manifolds. Exhaust gases are dumped into the heads where they exit the opening to which the precat head pipes are bolted.

 

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific...when in 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th gear, my clutch slips a bit. Are the precat head pipes known for being weak? Could a leakage in any fluid cause this slippage? Pedal feels fine and normal...I've been real easy on my car for the past 2 weeks since I got this initial leak so I am not 100% certain it started to slip right after I put the pipe on, it's only when I noticed it.

 

Not a problem. The thing is, some people have had 3rd gear issues (primarily that gear) and there is a TSB out on this one.

The only way a fluid is going to cause the clutch to slip, in the traditional sense, is if some gets on the contact surfaces. However, our clutches are controlled by a hydraulic system so a leak there could cause a problem, too.

It is possible the former owner damaged the clutch enough so that it is just now beginning to come to your attention. If this were me, I would take my car to a reputable shop which I trusted and have them do a good going over of the car after you have explained everything to them and your concerns. Have them check out the clutch, as best they can from the outside, and see if it is in need of replacement.

 

Well, brought it to Acura to have it looked at and it seems all 3 issues were separate. Clutch was toast, they replaced that $2080. Kid before me must have beat on it pretty badly. The noise was coming from a blown manifold gasket they say, $300 and change for that. And the smoke was from my power steering hose leaking onto the back of my engine and burning off, which had a recall out for it. So $2400 later, my car runs like new with the clutch feeling great. Dealership was actually a pleasure to deal with, dropped my car off Monday morning, they gave me a 2010 tsx and I picked up my car yesterday afternoon. Paid up the ass for the clutch but I'd rather have them do it for a couple extra bucks than some local shop. They also complimented me on my rv6 j pipe that I can actually enjoy now that my issues are all fixed.

 

2080 for a clutch! holy hell thats waaaaaaaay too much.

But at least you have it done and are happy.

 

It's just one of those things you get tired of screwing with and will pay anything to have the problem taken out of yours hands. I know what you mean OP.

 

I've replaced the clutch in both my crx and celica...I just rather give it to Acura and have them do it for my TL...Don't want to deal with it myself and certainly don't want to give it to a local shop not familiar with TL's just to save a few hundred bucks. 2k is consistent with what I've seen on here and was average in terms of all the Acura dealerships in the area.