So we took a trip down to castle combe to RS day, and as I was driving, there was too much heat under the bay. I opened the bonnet and the bulkhead was smouldering
I noticed a few black sooty patches, so I guessed there was an exhaust leak.
This is what I found when I took the manifold off :-(
That was my last resort for turbo gaskets, it was an updated cometic copper gasket, so the only option now is a V-band housing. But its been difficult trying to get a V-band housing for my turbo, and even more difficult getting the mating flanges for the manifold and the downpipe. The Tial housing looks the best option, but getting one in time for ford fair along with flanges is looking impossible.
Then to add to the task, there is a huge crack in the manifold where the external wastegate outlet is :-(
If you look on the left, there is a crack, it goes rfrom the left side, across the top of the weld, then continues right of the weld. And the cherry on top is that the V-band flange would be too narrow to fit in place of the T25 flange. So with just a week to go until ford fair, I have to rebuild my manifold to take a V-band, get a V-band turbine housing, get V-band flanges, rebuild my downpipe, and get it all fitted in 6 days, while doing an 8-6 dayjob and looking after my son in the meantime :lol:
So unfortunately, the chances of me making it to ford fair this year are slim to none!