Exhaust Manifold Studs and turbo brace options ??

[Furly]

my big turbo on a top mount manifold was fine for a month or so, then i noticed the studs that hold the turbo to the manifold (4 10mm studs) snapped off and caused a massive exhaust leak. so i removed the turbo and went to pull the manifold off the head and noticed the studs that bolt the manifold to the cylinder head were snapping apart with almost no torque to remove the nuts.
since then i've purchased a new manifold, 4 inconel studs for the turbo to mani, but i cannot find any studs that bolt the mani to cyl head that are inconel or any stronger materials. only OEM options pop up.
does anyone know what i can use? arp does not seem to make any for this car, and google searches come up with just oem and OE stud kits.

also, i'd really like to add some sort of turbo brace or support to help keep all the weight from the trubo off the studs so they dont snap from the stress/weight/heat cycles etc.
anyone make any brackets or braces for top mount BT setups for 1.8T? or is this something that has to be fabricated by a welding shop or something?

searching online for turbo braces and supports only show heim joint bars that people ghetto rig to their valve cover which is made of weak aluminum. i cannot see that being a very good option as it would likely destroy the valve cover at some point.


any help would be appreciated greatly!! thanks!

[Furly]

I like this design, wondering if they will fit a b6 1.8t?

https://www.rmeuropean.com/Products/...B#Applications

Anyone got any tips on how to make a turbo brace/bracket and where to mount it?

[Fast4esT]

I have been running a frankenturbo manifold with a gt2873 for several years with no brace and have had no cracks or troubles. I do use the 034 nut locker on top though, and that works very well. I use factory studs for manifold to head, have not had a stud break since 2013.

[mrdoofer04]

ARP makes studs in many different sizes. That’s what I used from my head to manifold. I’d have to look it up, but it wasn’t anything crazy. ARP is great for durability, but remember the head is still aluminum threads so careful with torque specs. With those studs I would use copper lock nuts. Bell metric sells them in different sizes. I’ve had good success with those paired with arp studs.


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[Furly]

I have been running a frankenturbo manifold with a gt2873 for several years with no brace and have had no cracks or troubles. I do use the 034 nut locker on top though, and that works very well. I use factory studs for manifold to head, have not had a stud break since 2013.

Is that an eliminator manifold? My turbo is a t25 flanged 71R. Everyone I know that has a big top mount turbo on the 1.8t is constantly snapping studs.

[Furly]

ARP makes studs in many different sizes. That’s what I used from my head to manifold. I’d have to look it up, but it wasn’t anything crazy. ARP is great for durability, but remember the head is still aluminum threads so careful with torque specs. With those studs I would use copper lock nuts. Bell metric sells them in different sizes. I’ve had good success with those paired with arp studs.


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I finally found a website that sells arp studs for 1.8T mani. $90 shipped smh but I'm sick of breaking these things. Yessir gotta always be careful with aluminum threads. I hand tighten them every time just snug enough

[mrdoofer04]

I finally found a website that sells arp studs for 1.8T mani. $90 shipped smh but I'm sick of breaking these things. Yessir gotta always be careful with aluminum threads. I hand tighten them every time just snug enough

Yeah ARP is not cheap. I probably have over $400 in ARP hardware on my build. But it’s nice to know that I do not have to sorry about certain items anymore.


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