This is the biggest Goat Rope/Cat Herding exercise I have ever seen.
If the rear bolt is broken, I guarantee there is an exhaust tick until the engine warms up slightly. Ask me how I know!
Put a freaking clamp in the thing and move forward. There is NO WAY a shop can tell if there is "air coming through the exhaust manifold". The metal gasket is like 3 separate stainless steel gaskets stacked, it DOES NOT need to be replaced and it is impossible to verify "air" is escaping through this gasket sandwich. If the shop did not have the truck overnight to hear the problem first thing on cold start this is all a waste of time, even if they had it overnight, this is starting to sound like a waste of time. Either the shop did not hear the problem or they do not know what they are looking for.
Marvel Mystery oil will not solve the problem either way.
You could probably put the clamp on in about 30 minutes since it is the passenger side. But you need patience which you do not appear to have.
Funny how you are so obsessive about a tick noise and not the safety problem of the rusted brake lines.
If the rear bolt is broken, I guarantee there is an exhaust tick until the engine warms up slightly. Ask me how I know!
Put a freaking clamp in the thing and move forward. There is NO WAY a shop can tell if there is "air coming through the exhaust manifold". The metal gasket is like 3 separate stainless steel gaskets stacked, it DOES NOT need to be replaced and it is impossible to verify "air" is escaping through this gasket sandwich. If the shop did not have the truck overnight to hear the problem first thing on cold start this is all a waste of time, even if they had it overnight, this is starting to sound like a waste of time. Either the shop did not hear the problem or they do not know what they are looking for.
Marvel Mystery oil will not solve the problem either way.
You could probably put the clamp on in about 30 minutes since it is the passenger side. But you need patience which you do not appear to have.
Funny how you are so obsessive about a tick noise and not the safety problem of the rusted brake lines.