Ok i had an exhaust leak last year. I took everything off and replaced with Felpro gaskets. It was fixed. 1yrs to the week I got another leak. same place. Somewhere near the #8 cyl. I checked and tried tightening down the bolts but it didn't change. Well, I go ahead and pull both manifolds and Y-pipe AGAIN. This time I used GM exhaust exhaust manifold gaskets and egr tube to intake gasket and torqued to GM specs. I cleaned the manifold and head surfaces very well. Struggled yet again putting this piece of crap back together, started her up.... and D!@#$F exhaust leak is still there. I cleaned the EGR tube and intake mounting surface as well ( had the intake off to do those gaskets for oil leak). Everything looked fine when I had it all off. I must admit, I didn't inspect the EGR tube very well but I did clean the mounting surfaces. Maybe it has a small split in the 'folds', however I didn't notice any discoloration.
What the he!!? Anyone have any ideas? I'm so mad I want to sell this car right now.
The one real question I have, is there supposed to be a gasket between the EGR tube and the passenger manifold? There wasn't one when I pulled mine apart. There was one between the intake and EGR tube. Thats the only thing I can think of, maybe I'm missing a gasket. Yes, I did recheck my bolts after this latest install. No change.
I absolutely hate leaks. This is driving me insane. I don't even want to drive my car!

 

Time to get some headers (sounds like your talking about the stock manifolds).

I put a thin layer of red hi-temp RTV sealant around the ports on the exhaust gaskets to seal it up better, and help hold them in place. That might help with the leak.

As for the EGR, I don't believe there's a gasket where the tube meets the exhaust manifold, only where the tube meets the intake manifold.

For the easiest fix, you could gob a bit of high temp RTV where you think it's leaking, let it dry for 24 hours and see how it is then.

 

I'd like to run MAC headers, however I auto-x my car very frequently and I'm staying in 'stock' class. So headers are not an option right now...... However they are looking more and more 'necessary' the longer I SUFFER(!) with this leak.

 

Ahhh, I think it might be time to move up to ESP. Considering I just said fug it and moved up to E-Mod so I didn't have to worry about classing the few times a year I go.