Well i was planning on putting in my EGT gauge today and be on my way. gave myself 4 hours to get the turbo and exhaust manifold off, drill it and re-install .. well come to find out on the top side of my exhaust manifold over cylinder #4 there's a 3" or so crack! can i get someone to weld this back shut or will it just keep cracking? also, is this another sign that the previous owner didnt let it cool down after hard driving/heavy towing? im surprised i made 20psi of boost w/ this crack

now that's not the worst of it! when i was removing the 5 bolts on the hot side of the turbo, the very last bolt was coming out a little hard, cranked on it too hard and split it. now my question is, can i split the turbo and just drill out the bolt and tap it for a larger bolt and then drill out the elbow a little bit and be good, or am i pretty SOL?


i was debating wether or not i wanted to take the elbow off or the two bolts out after the elbow .. i wish i would of went the other route now!

any help would be appriciated!

I'll be back in 30 min. to see if anyone has replied, im going to go remove the turbo and clean up that crack a little bit better and take better pictures.

 

looking at the image now, could i just duct-tape off the hot side that way i dont get any metal inside or should i split it (just to be safe!) rather than risk it?

 

I've heard they crack easily. Mines not. Lets hope it stays that way. I've never seen anyone successfully weld up a monifold. At least not for a long term repair. They usually crack along the welds.

As far as the broken stud, that's going to be tough to get out but not impossible. I'd start by sealling off the hot side with tape like you mentioned, and begin soaking it with a penetrating lube. Soak it for as long as you can. Then, for sure, I would use a left hand drill bit. Most hardware stores carry them. Most of the time I use them, I get lucky and the bit will catch and unscrew the broke bolt. (you use them with your drill in reverse).

if it doesn't catch and unscrew it, then just proceed like any broken bolt removal, with would be very carefully. make sure you don't drill too deep or at an angle. Also don't use too much force. A broken bit or broken easy out is 10 times harder to get out than a broken bolt.

A long time ago, I had a '75 Olds Starfire. I had an exaust leak and needed a new donut. One stud broke off. I took the manifold out, and this olk farmer down the road carefully welded a nut to it, let it cool, then removed it like it was a simple bolt screwed intot he hole. It was pretty slick, but I'd be nerveous trying this on a turbo housing.

When you put it back together, use a good bottoming tap to chase the threads on all the holes, use new bolts with a good high heat anti seize.

 

Definately the welded nut option! While it is still hot, use a wrench to work it back and forth, then slowly turn it the rest of the way out. You may need to continue working it back and forth along the way too. Might not hurt, if it gets tight again, to heat the cast area with a torch as well. Good luck!

 

He used a stick welder with a very narrow rod. Carefully reached inside the nut. Said the weld would not stick to the cast, only the softer bolt. He might have unscrewed it hot. It's been awhile. It definitley worked.

 

that is a slick idea! mine broke off flush with the housing unfortunately. its been such a terrible day. took 3 hours to connect my boost gauge which should have only taken an hour at the most. now i've been working on my egt for the past 5 hours and still have atleast 3 more to go ... still waiting on my fuel pressure sending unit from AutoMeter. I think im just going to use the cracked exhaust manifold until x-mas or January when i get my quarterly bonus and buy the BD 3 piece unit. because earlier when i went around the country mile to see what boost i was making, it was spooling quickly to 20PSI so its not leaking bad as far as i can tell

 

thank you guys for the replies though, i really do appriciate it! i got everything taped off so no bugs or anything get into the motor and i have the turbine taped off and ready for that bolt to be removed tomorrow.

 

try j b welding the crack. that stuff works wonders.

 

There is an outside chance that you could get it brazed. Braze rod melts around 1400-1500 deg f. Not silver braze however. If you are careful it might hold for a while.

You'll have to vee the crack out and bolt the manifold down to something flat and straight. It would be best to try and get inside and clean the carbon out too befoe brazing. Pre heat of course. It's going to take a couple hours to do the job I'd guess.

Welding the nut on is about the best way for the bolt. The heat from welding often releases the rust. You can always drill it out if that fails. Try to hold it in a drill press for the drilling if at all possible.

 

I am a welder by trade and the manifold will have to be welded with a nickel rod. I have welded many manifolds and have not had any come back broken again. Make sure you clamp the manifold to something flat to keep it straight. Any reputable welding shop should be able to hook you up. If you do weld a nut to the stud on the turbo you should let it cool then heat the housing before you try to spin it out. When you weld the nut to the bolt it will get hot and expand which will crush some of the rust, But the expansion will also help bind the bolt in the housing. When it cools off heat the housing that will cause the housing to expand and should release the grip the housing has on the bolt. This is just my 2 cents I hope it helps.

 

done properly manifold welding will last . . heat manifold, weld with proper rod, slowly cool . . dad did a 383 chrysler manifold that way & it lasted 20 years . .before i junked the car.

 

My turbo backside is held on with one less bolt than should be.

That would be the place where I also broke off a bolt inside it, then proceeded to break off the EZ-out I was trying to use to get it out. Maybe someday I'll go in and fix it, but this turbo makes 38psi and has no sign of leakage.

I'm also hoping to replace my manifold AND turbo in a few months.

Justin

 

We ended up drilling it out. Dad got home and helped me, the EZ-out was no good. we got 4 good threads out of it and found a bolt laying around w/ the same thread pitch/size so we went ahead and used it. thankfully the job is done! lol

and about the manifold, hopefully it'll hold out until x-mas when i'll buy my truck the 3 piece for a present LOL

 

We stop-drill the ends of the crack(s), bevel the split to 90% of the section width, and use high-nickel rod starting from the center out... stick or TIG. Preheat larger pieces as req'd.

Otherwise, I'm a big fan of Lok-N-Stitch

 

I welded mine several times with nickel and even peened the weld to stretch it and relieve stresses, but it kept shrinking and cracking more. Some of the worse ones will shrink as much as 3/8 inch or so. Mine was binding on the bolts. I went to a 3 pc. ATS. I like it and don't have to worry about it now. If you change it be sure to retorque your bolts in a few days. They may loosen and burn the gasket.