In theory is there anything stopping me from tapping the stock wastegate port and putting a bolt through it instead of welding it shut?

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YousureWannaknow@reddit

Let me guess.. Turbo from L3T engine?😅 If you don't want to pay for welding that alloy, just remove control from steering valve. Replace membrane with spring or just remove vacuum pipe

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wearymicrobe@reddit

Expansion differences in you metal selection will have that bolt loose faster then you can think.

Loctite will not do jack at those temps. You can thread it and then tack around the bolt head but if you can do that you can weld it shut.

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BannytheBoss@reddit

Just use a nordlock washer... It will never come out.

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BoliverTShagnasty@reddit

Sweet Jesus I wish I had seen this a year ago. I’ve got tons of new assemblies I would have liked to use this on. Oh well I’ll buy for when my marking compounds show first loosening.

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PANTyRAIDING@reddit

These things are GOAT’d for high vibration applications.

Our laser welder grenaded itself TWICE in 6 months due to bolts backing out so we slapped these things on and it’s been running like a top for over a year.

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They are dog shit in high preload cyclical loaded applications though. The ridges continue to slowly imbed into parent material when exposed to cyclical loading, slowly losing preload over time, bam broken bolts.

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Dangerous_Goat1337@reddit

nord-locks are sick. I remember my dad using them in his race car to secure a lot of chassis/suspension parts.

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Elk_Man@reddit

That's cool as hell. Thanks for posting that

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IBIKEONSIDEWALKS@reddit

Could stick vice grips on the wastegate arm then use stainless zipties to secure the vice grips to something. No welding, no tapping, just full boost

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wearymicrobe@reddit

This will not work in the long run but yes you can force some wastegates like this.

I want to say we during the tuning of one of my cars they just jammed a bunch of washers under the spring to get it more boost while we waited for the right now. But we had 02 sensors jammed everywhere so it was "reasonably" safe.

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suckmyENTIREdick@reddit

Thermal expansion is a concern with a steel plug (or bolt or whatever) in aluminum, but I think that concern can be ameliorated rather easily by using aluminum instead.

Tapered pipe thread is standardized and jams up hard (with literal tons of radially-compressive force easily-achieved).

And I'm not saying it's better/easier/faster/cheaper than welding, or that this will ever be able to be disassembled after enough use. In fact, there may be no advantage at all.

But I might be saying that they do make both aluminum pipe plugs and the pipe taps to go with them in factories every day. If OP really wants to go down this road for whatever reason, and if OP chooses their path carefully, then I think they'll find that it is already paved.

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Freddy_Faraway@reddit

Not sure if this needs to be said, but be ultra careful about using an NPT thread for something expensive. I have seen NPT crack so much shit from being cranked just a little too much. Not sure if aluminum on aluminum would do it, but I'd still be careful

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longslideamt@reddit

Turbo hot side ,,,, its cast iron

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Freddy_Faraway@reddit

I noticed that after I posted, didn't feel like editing. Regardless yeah, thanks for the catch

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suckmyENTIREdick@reddit

It probably does need to be said, and you're a good dude for saying it.

There is definitely such a thing as too many ugga-duggahs in pipe thread world, and like a lot of other threaded things the best/strongest/most-correct way often requires a lot less force than some folks insist upon using.

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wearymicrobe@reddit

You can get a form of galling using aluminum bolts into aluminum threads that with heat will loosen. Now my experience with the same material being used for the bolt and the cut material has been that the threading is a serious pain. You are supposed to use anti seize in this config but again high heat.

I personally only seen this on stainless/stainless and it was much lower heat ranges but with vibration which you will see in a car.

This is me just thinking out loud but you could just safety wire the bolt or use wedge washers.

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foxjohnc87@reddit

The exhaust housing is cast iron, not aluminum.

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suckmyENTIREdick@reddit

I see.

So pipe tap and steel pipe plug, then -- and fuhgettaboutit?

(I don't see any meaningful thermal expansion issues here to resolve.)

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TheGarp@reddit

It will come loose eventually.

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lynchingacers@reddit

could do an iron pipe plug malliable iron loaded with anti sieze closest thing for readily available cast iron youll find

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Best-Ad-4773@reddit

I haven't worked with turbos, but I thinki know how to plug a hole, even a hot hole.

Tap your hole, get an aluminum bolt off mcmastercar or something,, tighten it down into your hole and cut the head of the bolt off. then drill a small hole into roughly where the threads would interesect. Now drive an oversized interference dowel pin into the hole. This bolt will never back out.

Just spit balling ideas

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DirtCheap1972@reddit

Why don’t you want to weld it??

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ujiholp@reddit

Might not have access to a circuit with sufficient amperage and voltage. Might be more confident in his abilities to tap a hole than weld it shut. There's a few reasons.

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hannahranga@reddit

I'm so glad I live in a 240v country, tripping a 16/20A breaker using a welder isn't that likely if you're doing anything within the sane realms of home stuff.

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DirtCheap1972@reddit

Pull the hot side off and bring it yo your local welding shop. It will only take an experienced guy a few minutes and shouldn’t cost too much. It’s a critical part and worth doing right

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Tje199@reddit

"minimum rate" at a lot of places is still baseline an hour, regardless of if it actually takes 5 mins.

Not saying that's right or wrong but if your base rate is like $125/hr it can be understandable avoiding that if you're doing like 5 mins of welding.

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sequentialaddition@reddit

Depends on the welding process. If they have a tig a 120v 20A circuit could do it. Especially because its cast and needs pre and post heat. Plus it's not a blind hole. Just have to take breaks.

I wouldn't use any other process than GTAW though. Too many chances for porosity. I think the best alternative is a pipe plug like others have said.

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gage_slides@reddit (OP)

Just kinda mulling the idea over really, I can’t weld anyways but if I can just throw a bolt through it then that cuts down on fabrication costs

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SprungMS@reddit

I’m sure it’s obvious, but make sure you cut the bolt down as short as you can get it. Anything on the inside of the housing there at all is going to fuck up exhaust flow through the turbine. Theres usually not too much metal between the volume of the turbine housing and the wastegate flapper.

Rockset is probably a good idea, biggest thing is if the plug backs out it could damage the turbine itself if it doesn’t immediately drop into the downpipe. If your pipe is anything other than “down” it’s guaranteed to destroy the turbine. Worst part about that is they’re balanced, and the easy proper fix is replace the CHRA, which is the majority of the cost of a new turbo.

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SumScrewz@reddit

Bringing it ti a welder will take less time than drilling and taping the bolt IMO

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frosty95@reddit

It'll be fine. Can add a small tac weld if you are worried about it coming loose.

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Zealousideal_Sir_264@reddit

Could you just lock it down on the arm side of it? Like a spring or something?

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gage_slides@reddit (OP)

I was thinking of something like that too, like just a solid arm that bolts up to the stock wastegate mounting holes

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EddHadley@reddit

You can do that and it will work just fine. I was going to do it but a friend welded it for me.

It’s a maxspeedingrods turbo right? The internal gates in these need porting or they creep.

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gage_slides@reddit (OP)

Correct, chinas finest

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skylinesora@reddit

It would work if you couldn’t weld it. Make sure you red loctite

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Boxofbikeparts@reddit

1600 degrees laughs at red loctite

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Boxofbikeparts@reddit

Just put a bolt through the new downpipe flange inline with the center of the wastegate flap.

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SprungMS@reddit

I like this one. The worst part is going to be keeping that bolt permanently sealed. Could get the bolt just right and then take the pipe to the welder to have them close it up. But could basically do the same with the turbine housing. Flange should weld better though! Not as risky as cast! Also more reversible!

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Boxofbikeparts@reddit

You would leave the flap in there disconnected from the WG. The bolt is threaded into the DP flange and pushes against the center of the flap. It will never move, and the flap is a straight seal so all the exhaust goes out through the turbine port. I've done this more times than I can count. Make sure to add an external gate somewhere though, lol.

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SprungMS@reddit

Exhaust gases passing the turbine will be in that cavity whether the flapper is shut or not - there’s no way to seal between with this style of turbine housing. So an unsealed bolt will be leaking small amounts of exhaust from the turbine exit, even though the flapper is clamped shut.

The other style with the gasket surface on plane with the turbine exit and wastegate port can use a “divorced” style downpipe and as long as the wastegate is held shut it should be fine.

I have two aftermarket turbo cars in the garage attached to the house right now, rebuilt some turbos before, well aware of how the IWG operates. Where my expertise ends… housing compatibility. I had a thought, what about changing the hot side housing to an EWG housing? Then no fuckery or welding is required, and new turbine housings aren’t very expensive. You might know more than I do on that possibility.

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skylinesora@reddit

Red Loctite isn't the highest temp Loctite. It's the highest commonly used (and generally incorrectly used), but that doesn't mean it's the highest temp version.

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z0r0@reddit

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/product/gasketing-sealants/loctite_ns_55501.html

This goes up to 1500, I'm not sure if 1600 is theoretical or actual, but there are ultra-high temp loctites.

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suckmyENTIREdick@reddit

At 1600 degrees, the aluminum bits become a puddle.

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bse50@reddit

It's not worth the risk, and potential flow downsides.
There are block off kits available for some turbos, you might want to consider them if welding is such a no-no.

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Msdmachine@reddit

Why not and Picasso red loctite all over the threads

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hannahranga@reddit

It's the hot side of a turbo?

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3_14159td@reddit

Tapered threads - put in an NPT pipe plug and tighten the bejesus out of it.

Loctite and teflon tape with turn to soot in short order.

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gage_slides@reddit (OP)

I’ll use rockset when I do

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mlb585@reddit

One way to find out, NPT thread might work better than straight but don't quote me on that