Plenum Install Going Bad

[Mr. Untouchable]

hi there, sorry to start new thread, had a search but didnt find the answer/solution i'm looking for!

now I have been adding a few upgrades to my car (33 gtst) over the last few months.

I have fitted a new turbo and manifold setup (XTR/CGC manifoild, GT3540r with a 46mm gate & screamer) and new custom dump.

I have also fitted a Stryder intake manifold, q45 TB and a bigger set of injectors.

the plenum is much like the hypertune items, but uses factory runners like the plazaman jobbies and has the velocity tubes inside also.

now with this plenum I installed a GIZZMO racing thermal manifold gasket, its a sort of fibre sheet stuff say 5mm thick. supposed to stop heat transfer from the head/motor to the plenum

now i turned it over for the first time today since november, unplugged the CAS, to get the oil up, plugged the CAS in and it ran, like total crap.

i have 680cc RB25 red top hi Flowed injectors, which I dialed in (PFC) at 54% and added +11 in the latency's

but i noticed i have water leaking everywhere under the plenum... pissing down. now I used blue max silicone water sealer when I fitted the coolant lines/coolant solenoid to the new plenum. but water seemed to be leaking from everywhere under than manifold flange.

Note also the oil is now milky under my oil filler cap. Ive never ever had trace's of water in the oil previously

so after tossing up wether to burn the bastard of a car or diagnose the leak i have pulled the plenum back off and all the water line under the plenum looks fine, no clamps where left off on any of the hoses, the seal from the coolant tube/water solenoid looked fine.

all i can put it down to is water leaking past manifold to head gasket and i assume thats also how water got into the oil in the head.

thinking maybe i should use some sort of sealer, but sealer on the gasket seems ghetto?

please help tuners, builders and or guru's!!

[Wheezy]

Yes you should use some gasket sealant on the gizzmo gasket, I didn't do this on my RB20, however I have been lucky and have had no leaks

However, my tuner (a gizzmo dealer) recommended that I do put some sealant on it.

[Adriano]

My guess is that there is water getting into the runners and from there into the oil, if there is heaps of water dripping then it should be fairly obvoius wher e it is coming from, probably should have looked under there before you pulled the manifold off.

[Mr. Untouchable]

thanks for that wheezy, i'm tossing up wether to take the shine off the gasket with some 1200 or 1500 paper, maybe help the sealant stick a bit better.

Hey Adriano, thanks for the input. To answer your question, I just couldnt tell. I suspected the gasket but I also suspected coolant tube/coolant solenoid as it sits so close. And you know what water is like its runs along things and it can be tricky to pin point the leakage point. And it was pretty major so i gave up knowing that it was going to have to come off to be fixed propley anyways.

i'm thinking some 1200 grade and some celley's Blue max sealer around the water ports..?

or maybe some heavy duty loctite stuff?

advice welcomed!

cheers

[Dahtone Racing]

can i ask why you want to use one of those gaskets when there's nothing wrong with a factory one?

IMO i would just use a stock gasket with some sealant and be done with it.

[Mr. Untouchable]

hey Anthony,

there was no real reason, I was chasing a gasket down and when I went to order one ( I was at Revoluton racegear) he said he had one on the shelf.. I had read about the gizzmo gaskets else where and had heard people have had good results with them.

So I thought meh what the hell just spent over a grand to do the plenum conversion whats another 100 bux to try make it more effecient.

that was all good then but I didnt know it was to be a leaky peice of crap lol

you say use a stock gasket with sealant, ok what sealant? brand etc..

cheers

[Mr. Untouchable]

ok just found the sealant I used for the coolant tube/coolant solenoid and a few other things. Its Loctite Blue Maxx 587 oem grade

"sensor safe", "Profesional quality", "RTV Silicone" "Gasket maker", TEMP range -60 to +260 C

but it says not recomended for head gaskets and exhausts (duh) and also says any parts in contact with fuel...

the the fact that its no good with fuel is a bit of a worry.

any other sealant suggestions?

[seanp351]

You can use either "permatex aviation form-a -gasket #3" or "loctite aviation #3" both these products are a liquid type gasket sealant and are petrol,oil,water and anti-freeze safe,they can also be used on pipe and thread seals.I have been using them for years on many different engines and applications with no problems and great results as you can see they are designed for aviation uses as well.You can get these products from just about any spare parts shops even super cheap have them now.They were originally recomended to me by a mechanical engineer and are tried and proven products.Good luck with tour install cheers.

[Mr. Untouchable]

Awesome, thanks dude. Just what I was looking for.

just gotta track some down

cheers

[juggernaut1]

I've used one of those gaskets on my SR and no prob's. But I used the stock gasket btn the Gizzmo and the head, and used your average silicon sealant btn the manifold runners and the Gizzmo.

[seanp351]

P.S. Dude I forgot to add don,t use silicone where it will come into contact with fuel or it will eventually breakdown and either leak or go into your motor or do both.

[Mr. Untouchable]

hey guys, just thought i'd post up my solution incase someone runs into the same drama.

I feel like a bit of a dead shit, I went and saw a mate who is a engine builder, and first thing he said was, the intake surface is not sqaure, bring it in and he'd machine it. Sure enough, got home and put a straight edge on it, about as straight as a boomerang.. well its barely noticeable but obviously enough to create drama's. maybe worse when paired with a thermal fibre gasket.

cheers