R33 Exaust Leak :(

[engo]

hey guys.....sooo..today was the day...went to pick up my baby after an awaited time.... she got 249.2rwkw BUT!... tuner tells me i have an exaust leak... which i assure you was not there when i took it to em'.. so i bring her home and sure enough on the way home its like driving a tractor...now i have had this once b4 and it was my high mount manifold... but i just jacked the car up and i dont see any holes on the manifold at all.. i noticed that the gaskets for the ext. gate are lookin kinda burnt... so guys can everyone (its within the engine bay) just tell us the more obvious spots for it... could it be turbo to manifold gasket?? if so how can i check without pullin the hole lot out...

any input is awsome... thanks everyone

[Bennett]

My leak was between the exhaust manifold and turbo. Sounded like a tractor too. My gasket had completely blown out. Chances are it will be that or the turbo to dump one.

Good luck

[Birnie]

Same prob for me yrs ago, same spot.

The 4 bolter gasket between the turbo and ex manifold.

Only takes a little to drop out and you have a leak, and it's hard to see all 4 sides properly

Get a genuine Nissan one too if that's the case, not a soft ebay job, cause they are soft...

[BHDave]

when the car is dead cold start it and feel around for the leak.

You have about 1 minute before it gets a bit too warm

With a high mount you have the manifold-turbo gasket, manifold-gate and turbo-exhaust.

It'll be a big leak so very easy to find.

[engo]

soooo shortly after posting i went hunting for the leak.....found it at the manifold to wastegate join.... gasket was blown to shit and back... i have a JJR ext. gate..and man they are the worst design ever... like... you cant even get the bolts done up properly cause they rub agaist the body of the gate...stupid..any way... replaced them with some nice metal gaskets ... took her for a spin... and sure enough.... the tractor returned...both gaskets blew out... so i bring her home and pull off the gate again.. (worst four bolts of the car) chucked in some metal gaskets again from an exaust shop... just finished then...started her up and can feel leaks again ... i think the flanges are either warped or there is something on the flanges that leakin it...so ill give her a drive but can almost guarantee that it will blow out again.... junk junk junk....

thanks for the input guys.... champions

[BHDave]

Thats the 38mm gate?

The genuine hks is no better. I've forgotten the number of times i had that bastard of a thing off and on and cursed the design. I actually had issues with the outlet though, never the inlet.

Get the faces machined flat and install some studs on the manifold. Get some narrow nuts (12 max, 11 preferably) and a 1/4 inch drive socket set with wobble attachment. I ended up buying a sheet of exhaust gasket maker and made my own as the thing was off so often. I never had leaks. But the head/manifold and gate outlet leaked after every track day....

[Bennett]

Another reason not to go external gate...