For all of you who have installed the Hondata Gasket on the intake manifold, did you install the small plastic washers under the manifold bolts and nuts? I did, and I'm sure they add a little more heat insulation, but I'm also wondering is they will eventually cause the bolts to loosen?

 

Most of the time they are NOT installed. It is my understanding they interfere with getting and maintaining the proper torque. It takes a trick or two to stop the thing from loosening up and leaking. Initially people were re-torquing it three times with full heat cycles in-between, but I saw a post that said something about using loctite. PM Todd (marcucci) as I think he has the most experience.

 

Using loctite or a good anti-seize compound when torquing will help give you an accurate and equal torque on all the hardware as well as help prevent the hardware from loosening. Use just enough to coat the threads. Personally I would not use the washers provided. They are too elastic to work properly in this case. Make sure that you torque the attaching hardware in the proper order from the inside out. Torque the hardware in three steps. Once you have torqued the hardware go back and stabilize the torque by going around again as many times as is neccesary until the nuts no longer drag or move before you hear the click of the wrench. (that can take a while, believe me ) . I Personally would do all those things. I believe that if you do you shouldn't have to ever retorque the hardware. You might go back and do a torque check on at least a couple of the nuts after driving it for a while just in case though. In any case this is the way a professional would do it.

 

I didn't use them, i found that they are a POS and a waste of time putting them on. All it did was get smashed and i had to go through the whole process of unbolting everything again.

 

Oh crap. I guess I'll be taking them off tomorrow. I'm sure glad I'm in no hurry to get this turbo installed. Thanks to everyone for responding. My initial instinct told me not to install them. Oh well, live and learn.

 

I think Hondata is aware of the washer issue. Received 4 gaskets last week, check out the supplied washers in one of the sets...









The red washers are thinner and don't seem like they will compress and deform like the white ones.

 

Chiung,

Hey, it looks like we are all set to go for the mod session. How come only one set has the new washers?

Stephen

 

Not sure - probably Hondata starting to package "better" washers with the gaskets, and I happened to get a shipment of mixed inventory.

Now the choice is to use no washers, as prior installers have recommended, or to be a guinea pig with the new red washers...

Or we could all guinea pig it, I can probably get my hands on more of the red washers at Home Depot or an auto parts store.

 

Yeah, we might be better off just doing what has worked best for the prior installs. Are we going to be doing like one car at a time or is it going to be everyman for themselves? Only reason I ask is because I know I will need some "help".

 

Stephen - check our thread in the Fla forum...