How to Find a Car's Exhaust Manifold

The exhaust manifolds on different cars are located in different places and finding it on your car is easy if you know where to look. Here are the basic steps to find the exhaust manifolds on many makes and models of cars.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Haynes, Clymer or Chilton's manual
• Flashlight or "trouble" light
• Jack and jack stands or ramps

1. Find a Haynes, Clymer or Chilton's manual for your specific make and model. You can get these at auto parts distributors, book sellers or on auction sites. Be sure you pick up the one for the year, make and model of your car.

2. Park the car in a suitable place. This could be in an immaculate, well-lit garage or under the shade of a tree. Just make sure the ground is level and dry, free from oil and other debris.

3. Grab a flashlight. Use a "trouble" light if access to an electrical outlet is handy. This gives you much more light to aid you in finding the exhaust manifold.

4. Jack the car up carefully, utilizing a floor jack and jack stands. You can also drive the car onto ramps and secure the vehicle's rear wheels with wheel chocks. Shake the car firmly once in position to ensure safety upon placement on stands or ramps.

5. Release the hood and, using the photograph or illustrations provided in the manual, direct the light to locate the exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifolds on some cars are off the sides of the engine, while others are to the rear of the engine. An opposing engine will have two exhaust manifolds, while an in-line engine will have only one.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't find the car's exhaust manifold from looking down into the engine compartment from under the hood, then you need to search for it from underneath the car, looking up into the vehicle's engine compartment.

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