Alky Kit ordered

[phil_long]

Lol!! I knew what you meant.

[phil_long]

So apparently there is a nice hairline crack in my header, right around #2 in the groove. 

[TexasT]

been there, done that.

[Steve Wood]

that ain't good

Does your car have the turbo brace going to the front of the passenger head installed?

[phil_long]

Damn!! That looks identical. When the new turbo got installed the guy welded up a new brace that goes to the head. I want to recheck it now though since you asked. Is that something that could get welded up? 

[Steve Wood]

the brace should have been swapped from the old turbo to the new one.  It connects to the turbo mounting bolts on the top end and runs down to the head.  It supports the turbo weight so that it is not all held up by the up pipe.  It also stops a lot of vibration which can sometimes crack the turbo drain line, or the header pipe.

I have seen many of them that were left off because some one decided it was not needed.

[phil_long]

Oh ok ok. Well, my turbo hadn't been off since I had the car, so whatever the factory setup was is how it was setup. I know the new turbo has an even larger supporting brace attached to it going to the head...it was one of the first things I noticed. I can't imagine how long this header leak has been present because now I'm aware of it, I've been hearing it for years. Could explain my shitty O2's in third?

[Steve Wood]

Yes, it could