GASKET topic, manifolds, egr, broken exhaust studs
 

I had to take off both manifolds due to extreme exhaust leaks at the area under the egr.

I have a double layer stainless steel new gasket for the lower joint where the egr connects to the exhaust manifold.

I have the same size gaskets for the other egr pipe connections too

Gaskets i couldnt locate are:

Uppermost intake gasket where the actual intake connects to a pipe that runs to turbo area. The pipe is secured by 3 fasteners and i found a thin broken gasket there...it used to leak some oil and stain the area but i cant find this gasket new. :( anyone knows part numbers?

There is another gasket, probably, at the exhaust manifold's lowest connection to the area "behind" the turbo unit.
It is a square-ish rectangular piping area and there are 4 studs and nuts for the joint. I have (seen) no gasket in there. Iassume there should be a metal gasket between these surfaces. Am i wrong? I found nothing but there might have been a gasket there earlier, i can see a little discoloration indicating there might be a gasket necessary there. I had no leaks without it but still Id like to know.

I am obviously not reusing the intake manifold gasket and not reusing the exhaust manifold gaskets either. (I mean the ones at the cylinder head) and i will use 12 new nuts for exhaust. Luckily the heat washers didnt get lost.
The manifolds have been removed and painted about 2.5-3 y ago and I made sure all torques did not exceed the greenbook values. Despite this or because of it, Yesterday i found multiple exh manifold nuts loose basically fingertight. I said what the hell Is that normal? Unacceptable :)
Still. No leaks at exh manifold at the head. My exhaust leaks were at the joint of the exh manifold....at the egr unit joint.

I had a multiple hr rusty nightmare replacing the studs that badly broke into the exh manifold.
Also I noticed that my exh manifold has a small crack across the lower lip of the round hole where the egr mushroom connects. Something to be concerned about? If there is an exh manifold available in the usa, think of me, please. The crack is small and time will tell what happens.

This egr unit btw is an idiot design and such a bad configuration to work around. Im thinking of blockoff plate and call it a day. Also thought of getting the whole egr hole welded shut on the exhaust manifold but I prefer reversible mods on this car. Welding the egr hole would solve the leak, delete the gasket issues forever etc... a securing inner weld would fix the crack too. For now Im thinking of the block off plates as temp solution. In that case, is there a unit that would replace the piping that is right below the intake? Maybe other vw models had the same unit without the egr junction.? Any info on that? Would be nicer and cleaner looking, better than blocking off egr at two places. If the intaje connected straight to the turbo that would be much nicer looking instead of having that egr leftover plus the blocking plate on it.

What are the disadvantages off egr blockoff plates, if any? Im in the NY area, cold Winters up in the north usa.

Became a lengthy thread, as always...same with every repair of this brick. Every project creates the next...chain reaction. The downpipe 4 bolts are stripped too...you know what's next....

Blockoff plates the way to go. No disadvantages since I removed the EGR equipment and fastened the blockoff plates, reusing the diamond-shaped gaskets that were there at the connections as they were in good shape.

That, plus replacing the weeping 1-7/8" hose (turbo to intake manifold) with a silicone piece has helped keep that area cleaner as well.

Thing to watch out for is the aluminum threads in the intake manifold flanges are easy to strip.

Not sure what you are referring to about the piping under the intake.

Thanks i'll just block the crap out of the holes then and call it a day.
IDK where to get that upper gasket for the manifold though.

The other area i think needs a gasket (or not???)is this

This is where ihad zero gasket.

Confused bc idk if there is one that is needed.

Hope this helps:
Greenbook says to "use suitable sealing compound."

Thank.
What kind of temperature extremes are we dealing with there? 500-800-or even 1000F?

Isnt it the T3 turbo gasket that goes there? Confused.

A website has the t3 gasket and gave size info. But im not at car at the moment. Could someone measure and comment?

***Exhaust manifold bottom joint ***

Thank you.

Is it this gasket the t3 accessory gasket??

Some other part numbers might work?
Im not sure this is the gasket that goes in there. I would need size info from someone with an exhaust manifold available to measure. Thank you!!!

Gasket between exhaust manifold and turbo? Not needed
 

I ended up not using a gasket between manifold and turbo. I used a very thin layer of red rtv high heat gasketmaker but there was no gasket there earlier.
The TD version of the Greenbook (d24T owners manual) mentions "no gasket necessary"
Then a good d24t forumer also texted me not to stress about it. Thank you

The red rtv worked very well above the turbo piping, between the upper tube's flat surface and the intake manifold itself. I used some on the threads of 2 of 3 bolts too because 2 of them reach all the way into the inside space of my intake manifold, and those two bolts used to let oil out via the threads (i guess).

Finally the car runs without the exhaust leak sounds, builds noce pressures, very responsive, sounds great runs very well and pulls very hard, smokes much less, nearly nothing when pedal gets floored. Turbo is smooth and constant at "every" rpm. BTW it spools quicker and earlier too.
The EGR delete was a great idea. Looks ugly for now bc I had to fabricate them very quick due to freezing weather.

Updates soon...