Not extremely happy with it so far. Not even on the car and I noticed with the supplied hardware I cannot even fully mate the turbo to the manifold. Should I file away the weld to make the bolts go in all the way or what? Also the size of the turbo bolt holes to the manifold bolt holes tell me that no matter what there will always be play because the bolts are smaller than the holes on the turbo side. Opinions?






This one will not due to the bead

This one will not due to the bead

This one will fully go in

This one will fully go in

 

Have you considered using a washer on top to limit the bolts exiting the back of the turbo manifold and bottoming out on the welded portion of the mounting flange ?

 

I’d add a lock washer to the two bolts that don’t tighten all the way, and not mess with the welds on the manifold at all.
The manifold looks good with good welds and a good collector from the pics I see.

 

I've read that the heat of the turbo makes lock washers not work.

 

Lock washers or regular washers should be fine, but you could also get bolts that are slightly shorter, or cut the bolts you have with a hack saw down to size so they don’t touch the welds. I would add a washer to it, then just double check it for tightness after you start the car and let it heat up.

 

You could grind that weld away.

Best route is to stud the flange and tack them into place (weld) so they dont back out

also use serrated flanged head bolts

 

Do people run a metal gasket from the turbo to manifold?

 

Yes this is true. Heat a piece of steel and bend it then let it cool. Same principle.
The inexperience is showing around here

 

Run a tap through the threaded holes where the weld is covering it and the tap will cut through the weld and negate that issue.

 

BUT TAKING THAT LITTLE BIT OF WELD OFF WILL MAKE THE MANIFOLD SNAP IN TWO!

 

warranty will cover that defect, it won't cover grinding 🤣

 

Yes
Obviously metal can bend once heated and cooled but a washer should work still. I wouldn’t tap or grind the weld at all because it may be thin and poke a hole.
A slightly shorter bolt could work also.

 

Tapping it will be fine. It is plenty big enough that cutting a thread will not ruin the structural integrity of the weld.
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Your probably right, the tap won’t really take much of the weld off from the look of the pictures. Just enough to get the bolt through.
I would just use a shorter bolt if it were me. Like a few threads shorter- maybe a quarter inch or so.

 

I ordered some Nord Locks if anyone is curious. Planning on using them with these bolts to more than likely take up the extra room needed. I also plan to put some high temp Copper RTV on the threads to act like a Loctite.

I am curious what would be a good torque range would be though.

 

Nah.. lock washers work even on the heat that turbochargers use. Don't know where you got that from. All depends upon the material, too.
Also, no T3 flange gasket?

 

I've been using Nord Lock Washers on my setup for a few years and they work freaking great.

 

Didn't come with the manifold or turbo.

Can't cost much though. Is there one or another that is a better option? I'd like to mate these together and not have to worry about taking them apart (so no leaks would be ideal).

 

Any 2 layer MLS gasket will be fine.

 

Id just tap it and call it a day. M10x1.5?

 

Yea

And I don't think I will tap it, because after the gasket and the Nord Washers, I believe it will make up the difference and pull the bolt more shallow.

 

Doesn't look like you have enough room to put a nut on the other side of the bolt anyway. Just make sure they're threaded in as far as the bolt will travel after you put the washers on.

If you still have issues the only other fix I can think of would be adding blue loctite or something like that.

In the past with some manifolds I've used allen headed bolts to get a little more room, but in this case I don't think it'd help you at all.

Edit: Another option as I think someone else mentioned would be to do a single tac weld on the head of each bolt. I'd try simply doing the washers first though, depending on your exhaust and turbo combo and how your car handles vibration/heat that may suffice.