T5 2.5 diesel exhaust manifold leaks

[Reggie49]

HI all.
My van had a leak around the turbo manifold area . My mechanic removed the manifold and found the flange which attaches to the turbo had broken away from the manifold.There was also a crack starting on the drivers side flange .This manifold is a fabricated item not cast as they usually are .My Question is? is anyone familiar with this problem .I'm reluctant to replace this manifold with another original item as the quality is not up to standard .Does anyone make a more robust manifold? My van only has 110K's on it so at $1100 for the manifold alone plus the labour, it could prove very expensive every couple of years replacing it.I hope someone can give me some guidance on this subject.

regards
Reggie49

[Cousin]

Replaced mine couple of weeks ago Reggie, same problem

Rang VW, they had 25 in stock! That tells you straight away there's a known problem

Still, at least they had them in stock

And we tried sourcing alternatives, but couldn't find any


M

[Transporter]

I remember reading on
http://dieselpower.cz/forum/viewforu...deaa9046467179 about that problem.
It could be related to high speed hwy driving. I don't know what replacement manifold they use, I will try to find out.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[Reggie49]

T5 manifold

Hi guys
Thanks for the feed back, its good to know that VW have some stock.Its a gamble getting a replacement unless they have improved the engineering and manufacturing.Dont have a lot of choice though.

Reggie49

[Transporter]

I posted on the site above and will let you know if someone comes and post that there is an alternative. Otherwise try search the net, ask VW if the replacement part had been improved to last longer.

[Slacker]

Ditto to all the above, just had leaking manifold diagnosed on T5 AXE Campervan @ 85k, expensive repair but no alternative apparent.
UK forums suggest keeping the old one and having it welded up as a spare for next time.

[builder bob]

I think i have the same issue at 170k

[Tewbacca]

@ Slacker, If the UK forums suggest keeping the old one and having it welded up as a spare for next time, why wouldn't you just get it welded the first time and use it, saving the 1100 bucks. My van with 90K on it sounds different under load going up hills and I'm now wondering if I have a crack in the manifold too. Is it easy to spot?

[mikinoz]

I am just waiting for enough time to pull mine off and have it welded. Ours is so noisy, some people must think it is a 12ton flat tray.



Does not look too demanding to remove.

[Slacker]

@ Slacker, If the UK forums suggest keeping the old one and having it welded up as a spare for next time, why wouldn't you just get it welded the first time and use it, saving the 1100 bucks. My van with 90K on it sounds different under load going up hills and I'm now wondering if I have a crack in the manifold too. Is it easy to spot?

Sounds like it, you cannot see the cracks as the manifold is at the rear of the engine and has a cover. Had ours replaced with new (3 year parts warranty) and our local dealer was good enough to charge wholesale price after much complaining that this must be a design weakness. Had the old one welded as a spare. Cheers.

[Sunny43.5]

Okay lets see if you drive your van too fast or as Transporter mentions [It could be related to high speed hwy driving] Then VW have something to answer for . A major component such as this should not fail as easy as it appears to from what I have read even on earlier postings .This has been an issue that VW should address[ 25] in stock would only tell me they know these things will probably fail so they should be doing something to reduce the cost to the consumer . Correct me if I am wrong what speed do they want us to drive at ???? Howard PS no ours has not yet failed at 127000km , but it is one of the first release models back in 2005

[Umai Naa!!]

Cracked manifolds are common on many cars. Commodores, Falcons, Tritons, Pajeros, Corollas, Elantras, X-Trails, and many more.

However, nobody ever jumps up and down like a VW owner does.

They crack at number 1 cylinder, where the runner is welded to the flange. You can see it by removing the right front wheel and the small covers above the driveshaft, and looking slightly upwards.

Soot on everything around the airbox, ticking, and a strong carbon monoxide smell on start-up are also tell-tale signs.

[Sunny43.5]

But I wonder if the owners of some of the cars listed payed as much as we have for our beloved VW T5,s or how much for similar part etc. I know $50,000 plus for a plain empty van is not what I consider a cheap purchase, some members on this forum are paying upwards of $60,000 to $80,000 for a vehicle that is considered by many to be among the worlds best . I love our vans as they are superior to the Japanese vans in ride etc and also for my use the T5 is about the only choice I can make .

[mikinoz]

So I'm assuming manifold and turbo flange gaskets will need replacing when I remove it, so best source those.

I'll try to get to this done soon and get some pictures for you all.

Manifolds that are welded crack through poor design, no matter what make of car. If they are cast then you'll be safest.

[Sunny43.5]

Whilst the price of freight would need to be added this English crowd do a special hand built manifold for the T5 for around $510 PPTuning - your one-stop Performance Exhaust & ECU Chip store - Products Page