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exhaust gaskets. Can they be reused?


smokin.legacy

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No i think i have an exhaust leak near at the up to headers connection....i thinki need to double up on the gasket because i believe there might be to much of a gap....i didnt want to have to buy 2 new header to up pipe gaskets and 2 new header to bloack gaskets....but if i need to so be it i just thought id ask.
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I had an exhaust leak in the same place (header to UP). I just used a single OEM gasket on the UP and it is working fine. Just get the nuts on the header to block studs on by hand then torque down the UP nuts then torque down the block nuts.

I probably could have reused the header to block gaskets but didn't. (also OEM). For an extra $25, why take the chance on having to pull all that shit off again?

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Ehh yea....thing is i think the leak is at the up pipe to the header.....I think I need to double up the gasket to make up for the difference in the pipe. I am guessing this only because i tightened the Sh&t out of it when I installed it and it still leaks. I used all new oem gaskets originally. The other bad part is you need to remove the headers from the block to change the gasket at the Up pipe to header so that means i need like 4 new (oem) gaskets. Ouch......thats why im asking....I guess I'll do it
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Do not "tighten the sh&t" out of any of the exhaust connections. Torque specs exist for a reason. Going vastly beyond them makes matters worse, not better. The sequence in which you torque it all down also helps. Some like top to bottom, I like bottom to top. Get everything is place and all the nuts finger tight. Then start by torquing down the manifolds to heads first, then the uppipe to manifold, then the uppipe to the 2 support brackets and lastly the 3 nuts that hold the turbo to the uppipe. Extremely problematics junctions (usually the uppipe to manifold) can sometimes be cured by using 2 stacked OEM gaskets, but really the only case in which that should be needed is if the flanges are warped (usually from previous overtorquing).

 

As for reusing gaskets, the donut gasket is very reusable, practically indefinitely. If you are cheap then the manifolds to heads are also reusable as is the DP to turbo gasket. IMHO it is just silly to not use new OEM gaskets on the uppipe. The uppipe to manifold is the most prone to leaking and the turbo to uppipe is a relative pain to get at, so there is little to no sense in not using new ones each time. They are all multi-layer steel gaskets, which are technically designed to be crushed only once.

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Do not "tighten the sh&t" out of any of the exhaust connections. Torque specs exist for a reason. Going vastly beyond them makes matters worse, not better. The sequence in which you torque it all down also helps. Some like top to bottom, I like bottom to top. Get everything is place and all the nuts finger tight. Then start by torquing down the manifolds to heads first, then the uppipe to manifold, then the uppipe to the 2 support brackets and lastly the 3 nuts that hold the turbo to the uppipe. Extremely problematics junctions (usually the uppipe to manifold) can sometimes be cured by using 2 stacked OEM gaskets, but really the only case in which that should be needed is if the flanges are warped (usually from previous overtorquing).

 

As for reusing gaskets, the donut gasket is very reusable, practically indefinitely. If you are cheap then the manifolds to heads are also reusable as is the DP to turbo gasket. IMHO it is just silly to not use new OEM gaskets on the uppipe. The uppipe to manifold is the most prone to leaking and the turbo to uppipe is a relative pain to get at, so there is little to no sense in not using new ones each time. They are all multi-layer steel gaskets, which are technically designed to be crushed only once.

 

:whore:

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Do not "tighten the sh&t" out of any of the exhaust connections. Torque specs exist for a reason. Going vastly beyond them makes matters worse, not better. The sequence in which you torque it all down also helps. Some like top to bottom, I like bottom to top. Get everything is place and all the nuts finger tight. Then start by torquing down the manifolds to heads first, then the uppipe to manifold, then the uppipe to the 2 support brackets and lastly the 3 nuts that hold the turbo to the uppipe. Extremely problematics junctions (usually the uppipe to manifold) can sometimes be cured by using 2 stacked OEM gaskets, but really the only case in which that should be needed is if the flanges are warped (usually from previous overtorquing).

 

As for reusing gaskets, the donut gasket is very reusable, practically indefinitely. If you are cheap then the manifolds to heads are also reusable as is the DP to turbo gasket. IMHO it is just silly to not use new OEM gaskets on the uppipe. The uppipe to manifold is the most prone to leaking and the turbo to uppipe is a relative pain to get at, so there is little to no sense in not using new ones each time. They are all multi-layer steel gaskets, which are technically designed to be crushed only once.

 

 

Thats exactly what I have done and was planning to do. The over tightening thing yeah you may be right but with all new piping i didnt think owm torque specs applied any more and its extrememly hard to get a torque wrench in those areas. Obviously I can see over tightening the block to manifold bolts being an issue but i never thought there would be one with the manifold to up pipe. Anyways question answered thanks guys

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I think I need to join the "say no to copper gaskets" camp. While I did not have any leaks, the copper gasket on my UP was split in two when I took the pipe off this weekend.

 

I used Crucial copper gaskets on my UP. No leaks, no problems, ever.
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X2, I'm seriously pissed off I didn't get a warning about them beforehand. Ended up costing me $100 down the road for new OEM gaskets and then labour to re-install them.

 

Failed after 3 months...:rolleyes:

 

^^ Those MR gaskets are no fair. With all seriousness, I think they are made of newspaper.
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