Dreaded ATS OEM Turbo Up-pipe slip joint leak has killed my boost 2022 edition.

SLC97SR5

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Dang, sorry to hear that. I was hoping for an easy fix.
I've used several wraps of glass cloth tape on my squeaky exhaust joints under the truck where the muffler should be with success but the vibration and heat is not as extreme there.
 

ocnorb

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I wonder if the pinched oem downpipe plays into this by adding backpressure on the joint.

I’m going to build a new up-pipe. Installed head studs yesterday. That was fun.
 

ocnorb

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I really think a copper solution could be found that is less expensive than any miracle goops. Could be made in a simple hydraulic press.
 

Nero

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I chatted at a buddy of mine who worked at a Ford dealer for years, he said even at the dealer they would just use high temp RTV on those flanges, and seldomly had comebacks. If they did come back, they'd replace the collector and the up pipe.

It would be neat if Russ had some of his upgraded pipes available, I'd buy one just for the inevitable.
 

ocnorb

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I chatted at a buddy of mine who worked at a Ford dealer for years, he said even at the dealer they would just use high temp RTV on those flanges, and seldomly had comebacks. If they did come back, they'd replace the collector and the up pipe.

It would be neat if Russ had some of his upgraded pipes available, I'd buy one just for the inevitable.

It would seem that someone could "build up" the collector with "cast friendly" weld.

Of course, I thought of that AFTER going all in and building a new up-pipe!
 

ocnorb

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This was a learning experience for me. I've welded lots of materials, but never stainless that required a back-purge. Bought some materials and set up my argon regulator with a second outlet to feed the purge hose. Don't laugh too hard. This was my first ever attempt; if it fails I will build another that will be better!

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(Used aluminum foil with a small hole poked in it to seal ends for purge gas)

As you can see I used 2.5". I know it is probably over kill, but I had some 2.5" tubing from another project (My Landcruiser exhaust) that never happened.

It turned out that I had to do the bellows expansion joint twice. The one pictured above is what you find on Fleabay, Amazon and most diesel retailers - the outside is extremely thin. (22 gauge) I ran the torch across a fin on accident and there was no real good way to fix it. The more I tried to tig it, the worse it got.

I searched Hi and low for a better quality bellows and finally found a great company in Oregon making them with 16 ga inners and 18 ga bellows. GBE Mandrel is their name and they really delivered. The piece showed up 2 days after I ordered it and it was so much better than the cheap off-shore junk everyone else is hawking. https://www.gbemandrel.com/2-1-2-ss-flex-tube.html
GBE Bellows tacked in (top) vs. craptastic bellows from a semi-reputable diesel supply company that shall remain un-named.
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ocnorb

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For the Y-pipe I was a little better prepared. I've done a few jobs welding cast over the years. So I broke out some Jupiter Rod left over from an old job and buttered the top before attaching a V-band flange. Here it sits after a full night of being buried in the sand (After full pre-heat and post heat).
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Test fit of the band so I could install and run the rest of the tube up to the turbo.
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I don't recommend it, but I was able to piece the up-pipe together one piece at a time in the truck.

I ported out every piece; here is a shot before it was quite finished:
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Funny enough, I actually ended up using a copper seal in the end!
These v-band flanges came from Monkeyfab - this a picture from their site. I forgot to get any pics of them.
You anneal the ring before install or re-tighten it after getting your exhaust hot. I chose to pre-anneal and I've had zero leaks in the 50-60 miles I've driven on it so far. (I crawled under to check a few times this week)

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The_Josh_Bear

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I wasn't online for a while this summer and missed this thread. I just got to read through it, wanted to say-- thank you for all the intel, sharing your hard work, and keeping us in the loop!

FWIW I can't imagine the 5lbs of boost the dealerships were dealing with was much struggle for the RTV. Those engines probably weren't even seeing 900* EGT's so I can understand why they didn't have many come-backs.

I'm on of the guys that tried RTV and it failed. I'm running a maxed-out pump with CAC, 3" turbo outlet and a BHAF. So 14psi is about where my wastegate blows open and she gets there whenever I'm WOT, even without a load. The fact that RTV even worked for me for a month was amazing! I was definitely surprised with it, but it failed and I tried 3 times I think.

Next shot was furnace cement, and I have to say that it's still going strong. It has a little grit to it that takes up the clearance in my pipes.
I can't say how many miles I have on the furnace cement, but a few thousand for sure. I'd much rather have a better solution but it's holding for now. I'm sure it's still leaking some, but it's doing a lot better than the slip-joint itself.

I'm no welder but I'd say those are plenty good welds! I like the way you got the back-gas into the pipe. Did it weld differently that way?
I've only ever used stick, and I did my 3" turbo outlet mod that way(stainless rod) and many random exhaust pieces that way. Was putting the y-collector in the sand to slow the cooling process to avoid cracking?

Thanks again for sharing!
 

ocnorb

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I wasn't online for a while this summer and missed this thread. I just got to read through it, wanted to say-- thank you for all the intel, sharing your hard work, and keeping us in the loop!

FWIW I can't imagine the 5lbs of boost the dealerships were dealing with was much struggle for the RTV. Those engines probably weren't even seeing 900* EGT's so I can understand why they didn't have many come-backs.

I'm on of the guys that tried RTV and it failed. I'm running a maxed-out pump with CAC, 3" turbo outlet and a BHAF. So 14psi is about where my wastegate blows open and she gets there whenever I'm WOT, even without a load. The fact that RTV even worked for me for a month was amazing! I was definitely surprised with it, but it failed and I tried 3 times I think.

Next shot was furnace cement, and I have to say that it's still going strong. It has a little grit to it that takes up the clearance in my pipes.
I can't say how many miles I have on the furnace cement, but a few thousand for sure. I'd much rather have a better solution but it's holding for now. I'm sure it's still leaking some, but it's doing a lot better than the slip-joint itself.

I'm no welder but I'd say those are plenty good welds! I like the way you got the back-gas into the pipe. Did it weld differently that way?
I've only ever used stick, and I did my 3" turbo outlet mod that way(stainless rod) and many random exhaust pieces that way. Was putting the y-collector in the sand to slow the cooling process to avoid cracking?

Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks!
The back gas was just to prevent “sugaring”; stainless that has sugaring will fail fairly quickly. It welded about the same. This being my first shot at it, I’m happy with the results.

Yes, the buried in the sand trick was to try and slow the cooling down as much as possible. It was still very warm after work the next day when I dug it out!!
 

hacked89

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