Ive done some research but cant seem to find anyone whose personally done this DIY. im looking to do the Exhaust manifold on my T5 FWD since i have a exhaust manifold leak and ive already confirmed that all the exhaust manifold bolts are removable, none are seized so im good there, just wanted to know if its possible to just take them all off and then have enough room to push the manifold out of the way to just slide on the new gasket?
bavarianpastime
No matter what your gonna want to get in there to remove any crud thats built up on the gasket surface. Otherwise your compromising your new gasket and the possibility for a new leak to develop is higher. You will need to remove both air pipes from the turbo and the down pipe at least. you may be able to swing it out of the way enough after that to clean the surface but make sure you don't get debris into the ports. Just because its in the exhaust side doesn't mean stuff won't get sucked back in the first time you start it. I would buy the gaskets for oil and water to the turbo just in case it has to be removed entirely. Getting stuck 3/4 through a job because you don't have everything you need is the worst. The flex pipe won't give you much movement and your still banking on being able to pull all the studs out and not just backing off the nuts.
Ive never done this myself but this is just the thought process I have going into such a job.
Ive never done this myself but this is just the thought process I have going into such a job.
I'll be undergoing this exact project this week... Just so long as the rain holds off. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
Not really a write up... But here's what I did.
Take off the strut bar (if you have one) and remove the intake pipe.
![Image]()
On the back of the engine, you'll see the 12 exhaust manifold bolts. 13mm
![Image]()
Smart phone camera with a light is a life saver.
![Image]()
Unfortunately, there are studs and nuts, not bolts. Some of the studs came out with the nuts, others just came out as nuts.
![Image]()
This made things challenging, because I didn't want to damage the studs trying to remove them. So instead, I crawled under the car and disconnected all of the exhaust hangers. This allowed the manifold to slide far enough back that I could get the old gasket off and put the new gasket on. You could more easily disconnect the DP, but if you've ever experienced the DP bolts backing out, you know not to mess with these once they're secure.
Here's all that was left of my old gasket, pretty clear why I had a leak.
![Image]()
Nice shiny 3 layer gasket to go in!
![Image]()
Not sure what the torque specs are for the nuts, just put them on by hand until they felt secure but not impossible to remove if I ever need to do this again.
No more leak, no more farting noise, and the turbo spools up a little quicker since ALL of the exhaust now passes through the turbines.
Take off the strut bar (if you have one) and remove the intake pipe.
On the back of the engine, you'll see the 12 exhaust manifold bolts. 13mm
Smart phone camera with a light is a life saver.
Unfortunately, there are studs and nuts, not bolts. Some of the studs came out with the nuts, others just came out as nuts.
This made things challenging, because I didn't want to damage the studs trying to remove them. So instead, I crawled under the car and disconnected all of the exhaust hangers. This allowed the manifold to slide far enough back that I could get the old gasket off and put the new gasket on. You could more easily disconnect the DP, but if you've ever experienced the DP bolts backing out, you know not to mess with these once they're secure.
Here's all that was left of my old gasket, pretty clear why I had a leak.
Nice shiny 3 layer gasket to go in!
Not sure what the torque specs are for the nuts, just put them on by hand until they felt secure but not impossible to remove if I ever need to do this again.
No more leak, no more farting noise, and the turbo spools up a little quicker since ALL of the exhaust now passes through the turbines.
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