EKM
Active Member
When I broke my factory turbo to manifold seal it was to have the turbo rebuilt. Part of that was honing the mating surface on the turbo. I reinstalled it with a new gasket without rtv and it leaked slightly when on plane. So I took it off and cleaned manifold side really well, put in new mounting studs and new gasket with rtv. That worked. Just sharing an experience you might find something useful in.
Next step is to remove turbo and remove the exhaust elbow (studs rusted into turbo). The 10mm bolt heads are super easy to strip and will be replaced with 13mm head bolts. I will get the mating surface on the turbo redone. Need to inspect turbo for any cracks. Last step will be remove the exhaust manifold and have it resurfaced. Might be worth doing the exhaust manifold now as the admiral is getting pretty pissed. Keeps telling me to hire a Cummins mechanic....not yet!