Exhaust paste or gasket?

[Richard123]

My 1994 S4 has a Larini exhaust w/o cat. At the joint where the exhaust joins to the turbocharger I've developed a leak. Tried tightening it up, but that didn't help so I took the joint apart.

To my surprise, there was no gasket, just metal to metal. The turbo has a convex outlet, and the downpipe a concave inlet flare, so I suppose that in a perfect world, the two would seal.

Is there supposed to be a gasket in there? If not, can anybody advise what the preferred sealant would be to use there? I couldn't see any sign of sealant residue either.

Thanks in advance,

Richard

[trackmagic]

I think DEI sells a paste that is supposed to hold up under turbo heat.

Best,

Jeff

[Artie]

When I had the stock style ball interface, I used orange exhaust sealant(silicone) and never had any issues with it burning up. Always seemed to hold up to the strain.

[dodge1979]

I personally dont use exhaust paste..those olive flanges should seal well enough usually.ive only got a gasket on the turbo to manifold join, and mine doesnt leak.I guess its a case of makin sure its perfectly clean and joins are aligned well

[mr.oogieboogie]

I thought you were not suppose to use anything upstream of the o2 sensor