Is it ok to reuse gaskets

[Mick]

Hey i had 2 studs broken off my exhaust manifold, 1 at the front and 1 at the back, there was carbon all round where the studs were broken and i could smell fumes, so i removed the exhaust manifold and sure enoughthe gasket looked shiny and new except the front and the back one which were half shiny and half carbon, i wiped the one that carbon on it and now it looks brand new like the rest, no breaks or blow outs at all, the turbo to manifold one still looks good also. So whats the go with gaskets can you reuse some of them (im pretty sure u have to replace manifold ones regardless) but what about the turbo to manifold one if it was good before you took the turbo off ?

I got quoted these prices from nissan (give or take a dollar)

Exhaust Manifold Gasket - $115

Manifold to Turbo - $40

Turbo to Dump Pipe- $35

Dump to Engine Pipe - $20

Engine to Cat - $25

Intercooler to Turbo - $10

[wrxhoon]

i would get a new manifold gasket for sure as it was leaking .

why did u undo all the rest ?u should have only undone the manifold and manifold turbo and maybe dump to engine pipe .all the rest of the gaskets u may resuse ( if they are not damaged )but put some muffler putty on them on both sides .

prices are a bit high check another nissan dealer .

[JimX]

I will re-use any gaskets except maybe the head gasket, if they are in good condition. Exhaust putty will fix up any leaking exhaust gaskets. As long as they're not cracked or pitted badly or something it should be ok.

Another exception are those non-reusable cardboard ones. But I don't think there are many (any?) on our 'lines. Also some rubber gaskets may look ok but still be worn enough to leak, which you can't really fix with sealant. You just have to judge each gasket as you find it.

[Roy]

Hey Mic how did you go removing the snapped studs?

[MegaGTS4]

The manifold will be warped (as studs don't break themselves)and will require a surface grind to make the surface flat on the manifold again, other wise it will leak again as putty and silicon will crack and dislodge especially on a turbocharged engine. Also check all studs near the broken ones as the some times fracture just inside the head and only hang-on by a few threads and break when you go to do them up and this can be quite frustrating.

The gasket might be ok to reuse, if you get the manifold suface machined and remove and replace the broken studs.

You can check the manifold with a long straight steel ruler to see how bad the warp is, it also helps to hold it up to light and you can see the light shine through the gaps.

The easiest way to remove broken studs is to use a mig welder to carefully build up weld (small tacks) on the top of the stud until it protrudes out of the head far enough to weld a nut/bolt to the top then before it cools totaly spray a small amount of inox/wd 40 around the stud and slowly remove. (small air impact devices such as a 3/8 butterfly gun work extremely well when removing the broken studs when set on a low setting)

I have removed thousands of broken studs with this way, even 4mm studs!

Just make sure your careful and don't weld it to the head! Doh!

Just trying to help!

MEGA

[MegaGTS4]

But, If it was me I would replace the gasket, or at least make another one out of exhaust gasket paper that can be bought at exhaust shops, just trace around your old one and punch out the holes with a hole punch and one inside each port and then cut them out with tin snips or the like and make sure you cut the trace line off other wise you will have smaller ports in the one you make.

MEGA

[wrxhoon]

u can get the broken studs out with an easyout tool .all u do is drill the broken bolt the right size then put your esyout in turn it anticlockwise and out it comes , u can do in on the engine but carefull dont drill to deep u dont want to drill the cil head .

the reason the studs break on the skylines people do them to tight u must do them with a torque rench dont guess .

[JimX]

What's the correct torque?

[wrxhoon]

for manifold studs 27-31 nmts, nuts 18-24 nmts and u must do them up in order or u will warp the manifold . here is the order u do them up :1rs nut is top nut on number 3 cil , 2nd bottom nut on no 3 , 3rd nut top nut on n 4 , 4th bottom nut on 4 , 5th top nut on n 2 , 6th bottom nut on 2 , 7th bottom nut on n 5 , 8th top nut on n 5 , 9th top nut on n 1 , 10th bottom on n 1 , 11th top nut on n 6 and last bottom nut on 6 .

u dont have to stick stricktly to that order but u must start fron the middle and work u r way to the outer ends . when u undo the u do it the opposite way start from outside and work u r way to the middle .

now u can see why u find busted studs on the skylines 24 nmts is not that tight when people do them up with a 1/2 inch drive socket they can put 50 - 60 nmts easy so busted studs .

[JimX]

Thanks for that, I'm gonna re-do mine now So about the same for exhaust flange studs?

[wrxhoon]

jimx i would never reuse a head gasket it doesnt matter how old it is , what if it leaks ? out comes the cil head again ( r+r 8 hours work ) gasket is only 60 - 70 $ . if the manifold gasket leaks its not that much work so if it looked ok i may resuse but if u have the cil head off its not that much more to get a vrs gasket kit .

i would never buy a cardboard gasket ( i'll make my own ) unless it came with a kit .

megagtst , the skyline gtsts use a very thick manifold gasket ( its like 2 together they do that for a reason , u dont do the nuts very tight as u can see by the specs , if u make u r own and do the nuts the correct torque it may leak !

[wrxhoon]

if u took the studs out make sure u intall them the correct way ,shotr tread to cil head . do them up using 2 nuts locked together then undo the nuts ( i use locktite ). then install the manifold and do up the nuts in that order , if u already done them up tighter than normal it may leak when u loosen them so if they are all the same if not much tighter leave them . if u want to retorque them then undo them and start again that way it wont leak , unless the gasket is very old but u can use mufler putty

[MegaGTS4]

wrxhoon,

I have done heaps of gts skyline manifolds and not to mention the VL (rb30) ones and all of them have broken manifold studs on the end ports are you saying that everyone has been done before by the mechanic that has a habit of doing the studs up to tight. Exhaust manifolds warp from heat and break the studs, the longer the cast iron manifold the more chance of it warping, this is the reason that you hardly ever see a gtr with broken studs, and it is also the reason the ford has two piece manifolds on there 6cyl. If the two sufaces are machined flat then there is no need to have a thick gasket, a thin one will seal. (most of the old holden V8's came from the factory with no gaskets between the exhaust manifold and head and they didn't leak, and even some extractor brands have instuctions that say not to use gaskets as the extractor is machined flat and to only use a small amount of sensor safe sealant around the ports)

I wasn't talking about a cardboard gasket, the exhaust gasket paper that I use is much the same material as the original with a metal backing.

MEGA

[wrxhoon]

mega , what u say is correct , manifolds do warp but people get carried away and do the nuts to tight, how many mechanics do u know that use a torque rench to do up manifold nuts ? thats more the reason why they break . correct again that some cars use no gasket while others use sim type metal gasket but nissan use a very thick one and they have a reson for doing that it alows for some warping . of course a 2 piece manifold want warp as much as it is a lot shorter just like a 4 cil head wont crack as easy as a straight 6 .

i have seen plenty rb26 s with busted studs usualy 1 and 6 but also the middle ports as well .

the exhaust gasket paper u r talking about we use to use it in the old holden red engines nowhere near as good as the current gaskets nissan and others use , they blow very easy and then they leak .