exhaust issue?

[PIR8]

Maybe someone can give me some advice, I have a noise that sounds like an exhaust leak on a manual 4.0L TJ, the noise is hardly noticeable when not in gear, gets louder with more acceleration and higher speeds, but basically always there no matter if Im in 2nd or 4th, the more load the louder, not exactly what youd hear if your exhaust had a big hole in it but theres noticeable loss of acceleration/hesitation especially at high speeds. The catalytic converter was recently replaced, so was the muffler and the rear portion of the pipe, after that the whole exhaust seemed to have loosened and i brought it back- was told the clamps got loose from the heat and they were tightened and the rear put on a shorter hanger with less freedom to move. But that didnt help with the noise and I dont see any visible leaks, cant tell where its coming from because its not loud enough in neutral no smoke coming out either. The entire exhaust looks like its welded together by the converter and muffler and the only place theres a clamp is all the way up front. Does this still sound like an exhaust issue or could it be it just needs a tuneup or something engine related? The noise is definitely coming from in front of the driver just not sure how far up front. Hard to believe an exhaust place would miss something exhaust related when they were tightening the clamps.

 

[jeepguy46176]

Sounds like a crack in the exhaust manifold to me. Not real hard to replace you can do it yourself in a few hours. But i would go with an aftermarket header rather than another stock manifold because it will just crack again.