Botched my uppipe install

[Shoobie]

Spent the better part of two weekends doing TBE + uppipe. Fired it up tonight and it sounds like a massive exhaust leak from the uppipe. Shows how great of a mechanic I am. Oh well, live and learn.

On a better note, my insurance rates went up 500% for the next six months. Sweet.

[GusGus91]

holy jesus. why did they go up? ticket for doing 40+ over? haha

[100_Percent_Juice]

Can you tell exactly where the leak is coming from? Did you forget to plug the hole in the side of the up? How did you tighten the bolts?

[cody]

I was able to prove the obvious with my latest UP leak. I got the front up on jackstands, removed the heat shield and started it when cold. I was able to see condensation leak out of the UP to header joint. I just had to put the hurt on the two nuts securing that joint and it sealed right up after leaking for almost a year. OEM gasket FTW.

But EQ Tuning donated a Grimspeed gasket to me for that joint for next time it starts leaking since I let all 3 of them crash here last night. Should be better than OEM since it's the same, only thicker.

I've also had a leak from driver side manifold to head that was evident from carbon spraying out on the head.

[Shoobie]

Originally Posted by GusGus91

holy jesus. why did they go up? ticket for doing 40+ over? haha

We've been having issues with the insurance company about who is insured on what vehicle, who is registered on which vehicle, etc... We have 3 drivers and 5 vehicles, so I [i]was[i] listed as primary driver on our oldest vehicle (1990 Toyota 4runner, liability only). Then they suspended registration on my Subaru because it's registered to me, but the primary is my dad. This confuses me because my Jeep is also registered to me, but I am not the primary. Anyway, we asked them wtf was up, and they said, "okay, everything's okay now!" We will go have a chat with them.

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

Can you tell exactly where the leak is coming from? Did you forget to plug the hole in the side of the up? How did you tighten the bolts?

Pretty sure it's coming from the UP - turbo connection. My UP wasn't threaded for studs, so I tried to use bolts/nuts instead. That is likely the problem, as I had a hell of a time trying to get them tight.

Originally Posted by cody

I was able to prove the obvious with my latest UP leak. I got the front up on jackstands, removed the heat shield and started it when cold. I was able to see condensation leak out of the UP to header joint. I just had to put the hurt on the two nuts securing that joint and it sealed right up after leaking for almost a year. OEM gasket FTW.

But EQ Tuning donated a Grimspeed gasket to me for that joint for next time it starts leaking since I let all 3 of them crash here last night. Should be better than OEM since it's the same, only thicker.

I've also had a leak from driver side manifold to head that was evident from carbon spraying out on the head.

I left the heatshields off, so I'll try this and see if my theory proves to be correct.

[SpamMan]

you could get stud sets from NAPA.. if you need some help bro hit me up we could troubleshoot it...

Tommy

[Dean]

Originally Posted by SpamMan

you could get stud sets from NAPA..

If they are already drilled for bolts and nuts, standard studs are unlikely to work.

Taping the larger holes and finding fine thread exhaust grade studs/nuts is also going to be tough and the larger size may make nut fitment difficult around the tight confines of the turbo.

[Shoobie]

Originally Posted by Dean

If they are already drilled for bolts and nuts, standard studs are unlikely to work.

Taping the larger holes and finding fine thread exhaust grade studs/nuts is also going to be tough and the larger size may make nut fitment difficult around the tight confines of the turbo.

My thoughts exactly. I guess this is the difference between a $65 UP and a $100 UP.

[cody]

I believe that when an UP comes without studs, they intend for you to remove the studs from the OEM pipe and reuse them. If they're available locally, though, it's not worth the effort. If NAPA doesn't work out, check R&E Fasteners. They aren't cheap, but they're hardware is top notch.

[Shoobie]

Originally Posted by cody

I believe that when an UP comes without studs, they intend for you to remove the studs from the OEM pipe and reuse them. If they're available locally, though, it's not worth the effort. If NAPA doesn't work out, check R&E Fasteners. They aren't cheap, but they're hardware is top notch.

I bought new studs. The UP isn't tapped for studs; the holes are too big.

Looks like it's a ~3 hour job on the books, so that's a $300ish repair bill. I guess I'll have another go at it...

[100_Percent_Juice]

Just get a factory pipe and gut it.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

If you can't find the hardware you need locally, try McMaster-Carr.