I have an exhaust leak. How can I fix the problem?

possible rusted out welsh plug that need replacing
only fix is to remove intake/ exhaust manifold , find the leak and fix it

Check the exhaust manifold from the engine bay to exhaust system

Easy: buy or borrow a thermal camera. Start the car, point the camera at the suspect area. the exhaust leak will be obvious. More difficult: check for obvious holes or cracks or loud noise in exhaust system. Easiest of all: take car to a muffler shop, they will shoot you an estimate, maybe for free.

Take it to a muffler shop-that mechanic must have a tin ear. I thought my Sentra had a small exhaust leak (slightly loud exhaust noise) from a previously fixed exhaust connection. But a muffler shop guy showed me I had a rusted out catalytic converter. I would suspect your flex pipe may still be leaking.

A cracked exhaust manifold should not effect your motor unless you have an exhaust driven turbo or something depending on exhaust back pressure to be there. I know where I live you can not get a vehicle with exhaust leaks infront of the passengers compartment inspected though so you may want to have the leak fixed for passenger safety.

Before I even finished reading this i knew you had a clogged cat. If you have fixed everything you mentioned i would lean towards a clogged cat. This is a large reason this code pops up.

To check this you could pull that cat out and drive around and see if the code comes back, make sure to stay away from the police though.

Subikid90

the valve seals leaking oil inside the cylinder will cause an internal oil leak you can't see. exhaust leak is something different. best of luck.

Still not enough advice to give a real solution. However, my best guess is that you have a leak between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe. All the fasteners in the exhaust system will seize up due to extreme heat and moisture (during initial cold start up). These types of problems are best taken to an exhaust repair shop. Unless you own an oxygen/acetylene cutting & welding torch set, you will do more damage than good trying to fix it yourself.
Charlie

it is called the flexible pipe. it usually has a little leak but you can buy exhaust repair tape and fix it yourself.

it can leaking at a number of places
it could be the exhaust manifold itself or the flange where the manifold and exhaust pipe meet or at any of the joints on the exhaust pipes. or it could even be in the actul pipe itself. if you are on a tight budget you could go and ask a shop for an estimate on what it would cost to have the leak repaired.as many shops offer free estimates. sometimes the franchise shops will even fix it for free if it is a real quick fix. my wife had a flange put in for free at a shop because it only took the guy 10 min. to do it.