Hi,
I am new to this forum, so please bare with me.
I have recently bought a 2007 B model Zafira. I am very pleased with the car, but I have had one problem with a leak from the exhaust manifold.
It all started a couple days after a bought the car. I noticed a blowing noise from the exhaust, so I popped down to my local ATS centre to get it checked out. They were very helpful. One of their guys spent 30 minutes on the car trying to find the leak. It was finally confirm as a leak from a crack on the exhaust manifold. This could only be seen once the manifold heat shield had been removed. As I am aware manifold replacements are not cheap, I jokingly said, I suppose it could be worse, it could have been thecatalyst, to then be told my the ATS centre manager, I am sorry sir, the cat is part of the manifold. Once I got up off the floor, he priced up the job for me. A new replacement cat & manifold would be £450 including VAT and fitting. I said I would have to think about it. In case I decided not to go ahead, I offered to pay for their time anddiagnosis. Even though he know I may not be back, he did not charge me.
I went home and phoned my local Vauxhall dealer for a price, to be told, if all went well, with no rusty fixings etc, they would do the job for £815 including VAT.
I then looked at other options. One being to remove the manifold myself and getting it welded up. Or the other, to try to repair it without removal. As I had very little to loose, and less time consuming, I explored the latter.
I did not even know if this was possible. So I decided to surf the net to find out, and to my surprise there was. On Monday night I ordered a product called ThermoSteel, made by a company called CarGo, and I bought it on line from a retailer called Repair Products Limited, for £12 including delivery. It arrived this morning. With moderate mechanical knowledge, I managed to fix the crack in the manifold in a couple of hours. The product is like liquid metal glue, that once applied only requires the heat of the engine to cure.
It has without a doubt cured the leak, as for its robustness anddurability, only time will tell. I am not saying it is the bestsolution, but given current times, it was the best option for me.
I hope someone else may benefit from my story.
