The Project Pad

Mine was cracked where it comes into the colector for the turbo. I didnt want to go maing that too much weaker. I smoothed it out and ported it a little though.

Yeah mine is cracked too. I didnt care that much. My buddy's dad welded up the common crack on the outside for me though. Dripped brass allllllllll over it and it sealed it up nice

He brazed it? Interesting, I welded mine. Work pretty well, not pretty, but not cracked anymore. Do you know what temp brazing rod he used? I would be a little worried about it blowing out.

I'll have to find out. It definitly is not pretty, but you'll never see it. I wouldn't worry about blowing it out with such a hairline crack

I wish mine was just a hairline. I actually had a gap in mine, pretty bad. Still, not as bad as the ATP 1.8t manifold I did. I dont remember how much I had to machine off of the flange of the 20vt, I think it was like .050" but the 1.8t mani I had to take almost .150".

Did you have your manifold machined?

Nah...I just drilled 2 "stop crack" holes and had it brazed lol. It cracked all the way through the manifold so I just did what was cheapest and most effective

The problem is that the reason these crack is because where it mounts to the head is no longer straight. If you dont machine it true after repairing the crack, you could actually create worse problems. Pulling studs out of the head is the big one.

Well at this point, I'm not gonna pay more money for machine work. I've spent more then enough money on machine work at this point. Ill do it myself. I also thought that these fail due to failure of the passenger side motor mount. The downpipe would rest on the frame and the exhaust manifold would take the damage. At least this is what I've read.....not a chem or metal expert, but I figured warpage wouldnt occur except for super high temps and improper cool-down

Either way Im going to borrow one of my works straight edges and true it myself. I figure stick the damn thing in a vice and Ill slowly true it myself. Truth be told, I never even thought about that till you mentioned it

Those manifolds warped all the time, breaking exhaust studs in the process. Ask any old Audi guy that worked at a dealership and they will likely have tools they made for drilling out the broken studs. Audi also offered revised exhaust studs for the outside 4 studs that were softer so they would streach instead of break, but truthfully they didn't work that well. The best studs are actually Ford v8 exhaust studs since they are 8x1.5 and are stainless, so the manifold will break around it before they crack.

Interesting. Glad you guys brought that to my attention. I never wouldve even thought to think of that. I'm gonna go home and give it the attention it needs

I just done want to see you go through all of this work, and in a couple months, have to pull it back apart for a warped manifold and/or broken exhaust studs.

so took it to a straight edge last night. Absolutely no play what-so-ever. Did a little sanding on the 3rd runner but that was about it.

Also, anyone got some tips for pulling valve stem seals without destroying them? Wasn't paying attention and put the OEM seats in when I shouldve used the aftermarket ones. Just bought these seals and don't want to destroy them

AngryTaco wrote:Also, anyone got some tips for pulling valve stem seals without destroying them? Wasn't paying attention and put the OEM seats in when I shouldve used the aftermarket ones. Just bought these seals and don't want to destroy them

Man, I wish I had a good tip for ya man. Every single time I pull them they end up oval. :(

Well I'm gonna try using this spark plug boot puller thing....maybe? There is a specific tool for valve stem seals, but I'm having a hell of a time finding one locally

Ok picked up trans fluid today. I found some stuff that is kinda an offbrand but it says it is GL-5 spec and safe for use with copper and bronze bushings. I am assuming this also means it is safe for brass since brass is basically zinc and copper

Anyone care to verify? Really don't want to screw up the trans. I would think if it's safe for bronze and copper, brass wouldn't be any different

I just looked in Mitchell and it specified GL-4 80-90.

yeah...had second thoughts. Returned it, bit the bullet, and bought 3 quarts of Redline MT90

Comparison between stock G54 and the new G60s


Put a 1/4" ball bearing under each headstud








Preparing to do Rear Main Seal and housing gasket




New Pilot Bearing


New Rear Main Seal and Housing gasket


Back together again at last!


Good thing I didn't break this one....or the next picture would be of a burning car

Looking good. Hope to hear it soon!

AngryTaco wrote:yeah...had second thoughts. Returned it, bit the bullet, and bought 3 quarts of Redline MT90

Good thing you did, I just read:

"Gl5 is not safe for yellow metals in the trans (brass-bronze alloys), Gl4 is."

Project is looking good man! Question though, why did you put a Ball bearing under each headstud?

Keep it up, things are coming together nicely.

Oh the memories

extreme90path wrote:Question though, why did you put a Ball bearing under each headstud?

It's just an easy way to bottom out the stud without it getting into the unthreaded portion, so you can get the studs tight in the block rather than it potentially just hanging there. I still don't know why ARP doesn't put a bump or taper at the bottom like everyone else does, but it's a way of adding your own. I'm betting that most of the horror stories of ARP studs loosening are because of not being able to preload them properly. The ball bearing gives you the preload...

Anyway, did it with mine and it felt much better than without. Obviously you can't do it with a block that has the holes open to a water or oil passage. Again, ARP should just add something built-in, especially for these cases.

-Rog

extreme90path wrote:

AngryTaco wrote:yeah...had second thoughts. Returned it, bit the bullet, and bought 3 quarts of Redline MT90

Good thing you did, I just read:

"Gl5 is not safe for yellow metals in the trans (brass-bronze alloys), Gl4 is."

Project is looking good man! Question though, why did you put a Ball bearing under each headstud?

Well the strange thing is, the oil stated that it was safe for copper and bronze bushings. A lot of guys use it, but discovered the actual quality isn't all that great.

Reason I put a bb under each headstud is actually quite simple. The theory is that by preventing the threads from bottoming out, when torqueing down the nuts, the threads will be under compression, rather then tension. This results in more clamping force, and more even clamping force throughout the head.