Dee

Ok here's the deal I installed a Bee-R Rev limiter and while doing my burnout at irwindale I hit the limit a few and popped the gasket between the manifold and turbo out.

So simply put has anyone ever changed this gasket with having to remove the whole turbo setup? I kind of looked over the engine bay trying to "map out" how to attack this job but it seems the two bolt close to the block are going to be a pain.


For reference my SR20DET is completely stock, no aftermarket manifold/elbow/etc.


Thanks
-Dee

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'78 280Z-LSx|76mm turbo|1840cam|8.8 Diff

yabeet

Ive done this 3 times now and you have to take the manifold off with the turbo. Once with T25 and twice with the T28. You can get 3 of the 4 nuts, but the last one is a bitch.

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The thing is, it’s a gearbox, okay? It has one job to do! One job! Pull the lever… ‘Am I a pencil? Am I a cauliflower? Am I a nuclear power sta– I’m a gearbox! Oh, heavens, I’m gonna swap some cogs around!’

Jeremy Clarkson on Automatics

Dee

Well........that sucks. Guess it's a good time to change my fluids while I'm at it then.

So basically I can just unbolt the downpipe, all the pipes/lines connected to the turbo then unbolt the manifold from the head and pull it out altogether?

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'78 280Z-LSx|76mm turbo|1840cam|8.8 Diff

yabeet

CAUTION: This is a rough guide, use at your own risk, I am not responsible for inept tool users.

Rough idea:

^Take off hot pipe
^Remove maf and inlet pipe
^Now you can see most of the bolts and nuts spray the manifold nuts, the 3 banjo bolts and the dp nuts with penetrating fluid.
^Undo 2 coolant lines; one on block and one where the upper rad hose connects to the pipe. The banjo bolts are both 19mm, use a 3/8th ratchet/extension/swivel/19mm socket.
^Take off dip stick support so you can move it a bit later on because otherwise the upper coolant line will catch there. 10mm bolt.
^Remove oil line, banjo bolt is 17mm, use the same combo as above.
^Take off 3 dp nuts, they should be 13mm.
^While you are down here undo the oil drain line, iirc it is easier to undo it at the lower clamp. Twist the pipe with some pliers so you dont have to wrestle with it later on when taking it all out.

*Note; I have sometimes taken off the elbow and also left it on the turbo. It is a bit of a pita to take it off if you dont have flexible arms like myself. But if you leave it on its harder to pull it out later if you have a LHD thanks to the steering shaft. Its up to you to take it off or leave it on.*

^ Next up undo the head to manifold nuts. They are 14mm. For all of them except the very left nut [the one under the upper coolant pipe] you can take them off with a wrench using the closed end. The one on the left you will need a ratchet/extension/14mm socket.
^ Now you should be able to pull it off, be careful with:
1)The upper coolant line when pulling the whole thing off as you will have to guide it inbetween the dipstick tube and the upper coolant hose.
2) If you left the elbow on in a lhd setup you will have to move it around to get the elbow free.
3) Dont forget that oil return line/tube is still attached so dont go yanking it off with brute force.

^Now take a picture of the lines with the turbo off the car if you are swapping them over as it really helps when putting them back on the other turbo.
^ Look at the 4 manifold/turbine flange nuts, they should have locking tabs: Genuine OEM Nissan T25 T28 Turbo Turbine Locking Tab holding the nuts from spinning off. Get a long thin flat head and a hammer of mallet and knock these loose.
^Next get a assorted 13mm tools since I dont remember exactly what to use: stubby wrench, normal wrench, socket/swivle/extension etc and get them off. It is a pita to do this so dont expect to be done in 2 minutes. IIRC you have to loosen the oil feed line to get to one of the nuts.
^Now the manifold should come off no problem. If you are just swapping the gasket swap it and slap the current turbo back on. I recommend new locking tabs or your turbo will be hanging by the lines and elbow after a few hundred miles.
^If not swap the oil and coolant lines over ysing that picture you took earlier on as a guide since you probably saw a nice rack walk past while you were doing this on your driveway and forgot which way the lines went. Also install the elbow too if you need to.
^Your stock exhaust manifold/head gasket is probably toast, I recommend a 7 layer nismo one if you are not a cheap arse.

*Take a break and grab a refreshing drink that does not involve your friends bud or stella if you care about your car.*

^Place the manifold back on the studs, put a few nuts on so there is some movement left to attach the oil and coolant lines to the block. This is will make it somewhat easier but they are still pitas to put back in, and for Gods sake if it doesnt feel right do not keep tightening them in beacause you will punch yourself when you see a leak at the bottom of your bay later on.
^Add a bit of oil [it trickles out] and add a bit of coolant. You should be ready to roll.
^Now after the lines you pretty much slam stuff back on in reverse order. Dont forget about the oil drain pipe under there!!

__________________
The thing is, it’s a gearbox, okay? It has one job to do! One job! Pull the lever… ‘Am I a pencil? Am I a cauliflower? Am I a nuclear power sta– I’m a gearbox! Oh, heavens, I’m gonna swap some cogs around!’

Jeremy Clarkson on Automatics

Dee

thanks good info, I'll be tackling this thursday

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'78 280Z-LSx|76mm turbo|1840cam|8.8 Diff