the guy you talked to is wrong if you go to the dealer tell them you need the donut gaskets where you manifold id there shoud be three bolts to remove the maniflod from the collector those go bad alot and if its caboraterd the o2 sensor gasket goes pretty often as well

 

well i recently just changed that gasket and it is maybe a 15 min job but i just went to napa and they for me the right gasket. but best of luck

 

I went out to change it today.

First thing I notice is 2 of the nuts aren't tightened down at all. I tighten them down. The third is barely hanging on. It was stripped to all hell. The bolt doesn't appear to be stripped, just the nut. I guess some idiot tried to use an air tool on it.

I gotta go buy a new nut tommorow on my way home from work. I torqued the other two down hard, and the noise went away. I'll get it fixed proper tommorow evening after work.

 

The gasket you're referring to is an exhaust flange gasket. That might be why the parts people were having a hard time finding it. Fel-Pro number #23588. You will need 2 of them. If I were you, I would take that pipe off fully and replace those seals (around $3 each). If you've been having super hot exhaust leak past them, they are probably shot, or close to it.

 

Exhaust Flange Gasket

I've got the same issue on a 89/2wd/excab/22re. Thanks for the info. Anything I should be cautioned about regarding the bolts/studs?

 

I would spray the nuts and studs with a penetrating oil like PB Blaster or AeroKroil before attempting to remove them, spraying them when the manifold is still warm is a good idea, then wait until the next day to remove the 3 nuts. Use a ratchet with an 18" long extension and socket from under the truck to remove them, any attempt to use wrenches is a sure path to madness. Be sure to loosen the clamp that holds the A-pipe to the bell housing bracket before loosening the nuts, that should give you enough clearance to pull the flange free from the manifold to replace the donut gaskets.

The nuts are a locking type and are only designed to be used once. Buy a new set at the dealer, the part number is 90179-10070 and they are pretty cheap.

If the studs are at all suspect (bad threads, stretched, really rusty) I would pull the exhaust manifold and have the studs replaced. That might be a job for a machine shop unless you are REALLY lucky, usually a shadetree attempt at replacing exhaust studs results in breaking them off at the flange.

The torque on the nuts is 62 Newton-meters or 46 Foot-pounds.

Cheers,
Paul