Exhaust leak -- how to check

Ok, I posted before looking for help on what I thought was a vibrating
exhaust system component or heat shield. Further inspection while
idling revealed the high pitch tone that I hear at various speeds to be
present, just at a lower volume.

After crawling around trying to figure out the precise location and
making sure it wasn't something vibrating, I'm pretty certain the sound
is coming from where the pipe from the converter meets the muffler. The
sound is similar to the tone a flute makes -- and since there is
obviously air coming through the exhaust, I figured it made sense that
there was a loose connection that was causing the sound.

So my question is: Does that make sense and is there a way to check to
see if I've got air escaping (can you put soapy water on it or
something?)

If it matters, the vehicle is a '99 Dodge Dakota and the exhaust system
was recently replaced from the converter on back, so these aren't rust
holes or anything.

You should be able to feel the escaping gas with your hand. I had a
similar problem with a new tail pipe. It was puffing exhast gas at the
flange where the pipe met the converter. I ran the car up on ramps and
took a look to make sure before taking it back to the service station.
They had used the wrong part and replaced it.

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On 26 Jan 2005 10:33:40 -0800, wrote:

>Ok, I posted before looking for help on what I thought was a vibrating
>exhaust system component or heat shield. Further inspection while
>idling revealed the high pitch tone that I hear at various speeds to be
>present, just at a lower volume.
>
>After crawling around trying to figure out the precise location and
>making sure it wasn't something vibrating, I'm pretty certain the sound
>is coming from where the pipe from the converter meets the muffler. The
>sound is similar to the tone a flute makes -- and since there is
>obviously air coming through the exhaust, I figured it made sense that
>there was a loose connection that was causing the sound.
>
>So my question is: Does that make sense and is there a way to check to
>see if I've got air escaping (can you put soapy water on it or
>something?)
>
>If it matters, the vehicle is a '99 Dodge Dakota and the exhaust system
>was recently replaced from the converter on back, so these aren't rust
>holes or anything.

Get someone else to hold a big rag over the tail pipe at idle to back
up the pressure a bit, any leak will make a lot more noise and makes
it a snap to find.