Crrrrrrrrrrap.

[BuudWeizErr]

Today is the big SoCal240SX Meet. Everything is going great. I decided to leave a little early, and I'm pulling out, rev up my car, and it's louder than usual, and boosting later. So, I let it warm up a little, and it's getting progressively louder and boosting later and later. So I stopped at phase2 on my way home to get under the hood and look (by now, it's not boosting until like 4K and it's screamingly loud). Who can guess what the problem is?

If you guessed muffler bearings, you are incorrect.If you guessed blinker fluid, you are incorrect.

My ex manifold -> turbo gasket is blown. :cries: it's cheap to fix, but man does it take a long time to do. I'll probably just take the entire manifold off and put a metal gasket in there too. Man this sucks. Back to Accord power for now I guess.

[WhItES13]

Hey that sucks, but i guess it is good that you have a second car. I almost have enough money saved up for my swap, but i get a little hesitant about doing it because i do not have a second vehicle to drive if something goes wrong. I need a beater car!!

[themadscientist]

I was going to say the turbo fell off. It has happened to me.

[BuudWeizErr]

Yeah, I guess it's pretty common. I'm about to bust out the welder and make sure those bolts never come off again

I'm doing a swap for a friend in a couple weeks. I'm going to take that manifold off personally, so we don't have to bother with this BS when we do his swap.

[WDRacing]

I snapped a couple exhaust mani studs before, boy is that a pain in the ***.

[Ace]

When I saw the craaaap and the poster I was like oh man this can't be good. I feel so bad for you. Hope you get it fixed soon. Man I hope my gasket doesn't go bad for at least a couple months. Man I'm sorry for you.

[christopher]

Yes, we have all been tracking your progress and I feel bad watching the play by play seeing a fumble this late. Sorry about the football reference.

[BuudWeizErr]

hehe. My car owns. It took me a staggering 5 days to blow the gasket. And I wasn't even driving her hard. I am still breaking it in. Oh well, tough luck.

[Phax]

My ex manifold -> turbo gasket is blown. :cries: it's cheap to fix, but man does it take a long time to do. I'll probably just take the entire manifold off and put a metal gasket in there too.

First the stupid question... So the gasket that goes between the base of the turbo and the exhaust manifold blew? How many PSI were you running? Given that you're talking about getting a metal gasket, I assume that the stock one was paper? When you did the initial installation on the motor, did you replace the gasket or is it the same gasket that has been there since the engine was first put together?

Which company makes metal gaskets for the turbo? Who carries the gaskets?

It seems like I'm getting to the nickel and dime part of the swap. I've found a reliable engine supplier. Now I'm getting together all the little parts (gasket kits, hose kits, water pumps, etc). Looks like I'm going to have to add "metal turbo / exhaust manifold gasket" to the list. Oh well, it's good to learn about it now.

Bud, sorry about the blown gasket. It's amazing how a little air leak makes such a huge difference in performance. Sorry to hear that you gotta pull the whole assembly apart, just to replace a gasket buried down, beneath everything else. Thanks for *****ing about it on here, to help those like me avoid what you gotta go through.

[BuudWeizErr]

I'm sure the people who have done the swap can make a huge list of stuff that we should have done beforehand. Anyway, the manifold -> turbo gasket is metal, I think I'm just replacing it with an OEM gasket. But the exhaust manifold gasket, I don't know what that is, it might be carbon paper, but I doubt it because of the heat. So I might be replacing them both with OEM gaskets. You don't really need to replace the gaskets, just make DAMN sure that those manifold -> turbo bolts are tightened down. I am only running 7 psi and it still busted. And Wayne is shipping the gaskets to me on monday.

[Phax]

...But the exhaust manifold gasket, I don't know what that is, it might be carbon paper, but I doubt it because of the heat. So I might be replacing them both with OEM gaskets. You don't really need to replace the gaskets, just make DAMN sure that those manifold -> turbo bolts are tightened down. I am only running 7 psi and it still busted. And Wayne is shipping the gaskets to me on monday.

So your exhaust manifold gasket, the one between the head and the exhaust manifold, that's the one that blew? That sucks, that's even harder to get at than the turbo gasket. Blah, I feel for ya bro.

I'm getting the complete gasket set, along with a 1.1mm metal head gasket, and a new water pump. I'll be doing all that, in addition to a new oilpan, valve springs, RAS, clutch and fly wheel when I do the swap in the next month or so. Hopefully doing all of that will ensure that the engine is tight and well sealed. We'll see.... =/

[BuudWeizErr]

You're in LB... let me know if you need some help, I might be bribed into making that drive to come assist you.

It was my manifold -> turbo gasket that blew. I can grab my compressor housing and actually move the turbo, that's how lose it is... it's bad. I tried getting to it today and it wasn't happening. I don't have the tools for it.

Trust me, that is a PITA to do. I'm taking it to my friends house this weekend, he said he would help me do it.

[ItzGenX]

Use lock washers and loctite, they work!

[180crafter]

WDRacing---What did you do about the busted studs????

I just installed my motor and noticed that one of the studs is just not there. The hole is threaded, and when I spole to the guyy who sold me the motor he told me there would be no problem in putting a bolt in the hole instead of putting a nut on the stud.

[Phax]

You're in LB... let me know if you need some help, I might be bribed into making that drive to come assist you.

Hey bro,

Thanks for the help offer. Luckily for me, I traded my old Datsun 510 for all the labor on my SR20DET swap, so I've got that department covered. Where is Apple Valley though? Is that somewhere in the center of the state, or further south down by SD? Once I get the car going, I'm all about meeting up with other 240 owners.

[BuudWeizErr]

Nah, it's up the 15 fwy... by Victorville, east of Palmdale.. about 3 hours south of Vegas.

[Phax]

Nah, it's up the 15 fwy... by Victorville, east of Palmdale.. about 3 hours south of Vegas.

No wonder you have a fast ***, turbo charged automobile. Lots of open rounds around there, huh? When I think of that part of Cali, I usually think about 4x4 trucks with blowers, flying across the sand. How's the CHP out there?

[BuudWeizErr]

HAHAHAHA... we do have a lot of mullet mobiles out here. But you can ask the people here that I've met. I'm not at all like that. At least I hope. The CHP are d!cks out here of course, but for the most part, the cops aren't too bad. Street racing is getting bigger here, but not bad yet. Fun to watch sometimes, but with Palmdale 45 minutes away, I have no desire to race with these idiots out here.

[Ace]

Fun to watch sometimes, but with Palmdale 45 minutes away, I have no desire to race with these idiots out here.

Good to hear that I don't want to see that killer car get samshed up in a street race accident.

[SRJesse]

I snapped a couple exhaust mani studs before, boy is that a pain in the ***.

HAHAHA ROFL. Gosh I know how you guys feel in this post. I just got my car back from the shop from this problem. I Had the gasket go from the manifold/turbo connection and while putting everything back together a stud in the head snapped. AHHHHH What a pain in the a$$ and what a major job. Oh well, everything is fixed and running good. I am still selling my car if anyone wants to look at it. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/s...93165

[SRJesse]

oh and about the locktite and lock washers. I dont know what kind you were using but the best Locktite is only good for 500degrees. Seeing a turbo can reach 1200+ that will just melt away. Same with the lock washers, they get so hot they bend back to original shape and arent "Locky" anymore!!! HAHAA just some tips with probelms I have read about from other friends with SR20's

[ItzGenX]

The loctite comes in different formulas and colors (each indicating a temp setting). The blend I seen used is labeled to withstand 1000 degrees, so it holds off as long as not run hard for a long time. It isn't under the name loctite, some other brand that I forgot. As for the washers, my mistake, not lock washers, but those locking teeth nuts with the teeth machined into the bottom(high grade of course).