Originally Posted by Jordan Y.
Where were the exhaust leaks? Were they at the exhaust port/header flange connection, or somewhere in the header before the collector? That kind of leak would be the sort to cause you real trouble. If it was somewhere after that, I'd be less inclined to think it was the cause of the problem, but fixing it would make a good first step in troubleshooting since it's something that needs to be fixed anyway.
One leak is where the exhaust manifold connects to the downpipe... another one is at the end of the downpipe where an extra piece of pipe was welded. I had an exhuast leak once on the car but it was by the exhuast and didn't have a problem plus it was a pin hole leak. The 2 leaks that are there now are at the beginning of the system and are more then a pin hole leak so I'm thinking thats the problem.