Sleepy240

For starters I have a SR20DET redtop motor in a 1990 240sx. I had the motor running fine for about 3 months, then after playing with the boost a little bit ( ), the gasket between the turbo and the exhaust manifold desided to bite the big one on me. So after limping home I replaced it with an OEM gasket a few days later. Sure enough the car drove fine for awhile and then again after about a month or so the gasket took a crap again. Now I got some information from a local shop I talk to, and he told me about sanding down the manifold and top of the turbo where the gasket sits so they are completely flush. He didnt specify what kind of or grit to use. I was just wondering if anybody had ever done this or had any idea of what i should use. Secondly i was wondering if there was anything more reliable than the rather flimsy OEM gasket (i.e. 300zx TT gasket?).

Thanks

2fast4y0u

i had the same problem. man is it a pain in the *** to change that gasket....
i got my gasket from topspeedmotorsports in cali. i dont know if its an oem one that they just sell but it was like $12 plus shipping.

hopefully that helps ya

Sleepy240

Yeah thanks... the gasket is a total ***** to replace, this will be the third time. I was told that if the manifold and turbo didnt line up correctly (could have been warped from the exhaust leak? ) that could be the reason the gasket has blown more than once. Its good (and bad to hear) that somebody else has had that lame gasket blow! BTW 2fast4y0u has your gasket only blown once or what? Hopefully this will be the last time i have to replace this dumb thing

2fast4y0u

mine has only blown once, but when i got the engine shipped to me it was blown then. so yeah , im not sure what the deal is but it definetly sucks to replace them

hkspeed

is the oem gasket made of paper?

hks sells replacement gaskets for the t25/t28 turbos. i dont know if its any stronger, but i think they would be. whats the proper name for that gasket? is it the turbo inlet or outlet gasket, or flange gasket, etc?
http://www.hksusa.com/categories/?id=1088&rsku=0
or search "gasket" on their site.

i've heard people applying RTV or some type of liquid gasket/sealant on the new gasket to make it stronger.

btw, mine is blown too. i've been to lazy to replace it.

Sleepy240

Well the OEM gasket isnt exactly paper but its rather flimsy IMHO, so i was looking to upgrade to something stronger just to see if that might fix my problem. After taking it all apart and judging the pieces it appears that the 2 surfaces dont fit together flush . So im gonna try and sand them down slightly so they are closer to flush. Im going to use a 300zx TT gasket, i test fitted it and it looks good and going to apply some RTV. Hopefully that will solve the problem... Ill be back if anything happens. BTW i was too lazy to change my gasket also for the longest time because i just got tired of it! Either way thanks for the link to the HKS gaskets that might be something to consider when i decide to replace most of the gaskets since they sell it has a package.

Later