Melting The Turbo-Manifold Gasket Again?

[tricstar]

I have a 2.8 with TO4Z running up to 26psi, on the track especially the turbo gets glowing red hot and obviously the thin metal gasket between turbo and manifold can't handle it and blows out the front and back, this one has only lasted 2 events and has blown out the front, I don't want to have to keep replacing it every month or 2 ? thinking of just running a weld across the front? or does anyone have any other options?

[mystery_kid]

some kind of thicker aftermarket or maybe even custom made thicker one i'd say

you won't successfully repair a blown gasket

[GTRNUR]

Sounds like the manifold flange isnt flat. Under stress the exhaust gas will always find a way out, and once it leaks a little it will burn the entire gasket out in seconds. You may need to pull the manifold and have the flange milled so its perfectly flat and matches the turbine housing.

Two perfectly flat surfaces will seal well with just a little loctite ultra grey on the surfaces and survive virtually any temperature. At the most, adding one of those ultra thin metal only gaskets with the embossed ridge around the hole is also beneficial. But always use the silicon on the gasket, and not that copper based crap that never sets.

If your fanatical about perfection, you could have a ring cut into the flange when its being milled that would then have a stainless steel wire ring glued into it. Then you could use a flat copper gasket and it would be a perfect seal. Same concept as o-ringing a cylinder head to a block.

[STATUS]

id look at exhaust hangers, and put a flex pipe in the dump. I bet its vibration not heat.

[BOOZTJUNKEY]

+1

To both comments above

What is the manifold made out of is it hpc coated?

[Beer Baron]

yep, most likely need to get both mating surfaces machined flat. then repalce studs with new ones and use the crushlock nuts, or nuts with some other type of locking system. most likely it's either vibration loosening the nuts slightly (gasket blows out) or surfaces not 100% flat (again, gasket blows out).

26psi is good boost but there are plenty of cars I know running 30psi and more without these problems. welding the turbine to the manifold might solve it but it might warp it a bit then it'll blow out the side instead of the front!

[tricstar]

thanks fo the answers guys,

dump has big flexi in it and manifold is braced at mani/turbo back to the head, also used crush/lock nuts. and manifold is ceramic coated .

did have the turbo faced last time before it went on, sounds like I need to take the manifold off and have that faced also, I'll try that with the loctite and gasket, I didn't use any silocone last time.