TRACK BEAST Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hey guys, whats up? anyways so my 87 tsi had an exhaust leak so i removed the exhaust manifold, the turbo and everything to get out of the way since there was a couple bolts that had stripped threads. I replaced them with the correct helicoil, and now i tightend up the bolts and put one of the short exhaust manifold gaskets not the tall ones from fel pro, and all the turbo mounting gaskets drove fine minimal leak and now it got louder. i i went to retighten the bolts still the same thing. ive noticed that the gasket is weak and it will crack i do not have any hairline cracks on the manifold itself. am i missing anything? its really irritating. can someone please help out thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Don't use the composite gaskets. The OEM mitsu one was 3 layers of stainless steel. They hold up the best. The composit with a metal ring around each port does ok but doesn't last forever. The composite with no ring is a NA gasket and will not last long on our cars. Also you may need to have the manifold surfaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle's89quest Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 yeah what he said. i just had mine on and off 4 times helicoiling and trying to find a major leak. Come to find out it was my warped manifold. Run a straight edge on that joker and see what it looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooljs78 Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 What they said. OEM 3 layer gasket, surface manifold = your set to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighterpilot Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) Well contrary to the above replies I DO NOT like the MITSU OEM exhaust manifold gasket. The damn thing will cut the crap out of you if you try to change spark plugs or even look at it wrong. I had my '88 Starion's OEM Original exhaust manifold gasket start leaking in '89 with only about 35K miles on it. Mitsu replaced it per the warrantee but did not check the exhaust manifold flange to the head seating surface for flateness or cut the webs. Consequently it started leaking again about a couple of months later. At the time, I had a good drinking buddy Craig, who was a Mitsu Master Mechanic, that told me that MITSU has had this continuing exhaust manifold gasket leakage and manifold cracking problem since '83 on the G54B T engines. He said that the TRUE fix was to cut the exhaust manifold webs, resurface the manifold to head seating surface and install a Felpro gasket & then retorque it. Which I did and the exhaust manifold gasket leaks "magically" went away until '91 when the back two exhaust manifold studs pulled out of the head. I recently covered THAT scenario in another VM post reply of mine about helicoils. I have had very good luck with the Felpro MS90995 exhaust manifold gasket which Craig recommended using. It's a composite gasket with the metal rings that seals very well. The only thing you have to do is retorque the exhaust manifold fasteners after 500 miles and it seals as good as, if not better than, the OEM one does. BTW - altho the FSM does not say this, you should retorque the OEM head, exhaust & intake manifold gaskets after 300 - 500 miles or they will start leaking too. During my '88' Starion's head replacement back in '08, I installed the above referenced Felpro exhaust manifold gasket and then retorqued the manifold fasteners to the correct torque after 500 miles and have put on about 155K miles since then. The Felpro gasket is NOT leaking today - even after all of those miles. The trick, as with any head, intake and exhaust manifold gasket, is to retorque the fasteners after 500 miles and recheck the torque values about once a year. Plus make sure all of the gasket seating surfaces are FLAT and the webs between each of the exhaust openings into the manifold are cut (stress relieve the manifold), before installation. And yes!!! I check my manifold's fasteners' torque every year. Preventive Maintenance anyone? For What It's Worth. KEN BTW - Indy recently had a post which contained a Mitsu TSB which addressed the exhaust manifold and why MITSU went to this metallic gasket. It is well worth finding and reading. Edited April 12, 2011 by Starfighterpilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 You manifold is warped. They didn't change the gasket design because it was faulty it was a defective designed manifold and they tried to salvage it with a layered gasket and it didn't work. http://www.b2600turbo.com/images/exhgasket.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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