Hey gang. Hoo boy. It never ends!:eek2: On Saturday I noticed one of the idle screws on my Holley did nothing. It had no affect at all. So I took the bowls and metering blocks off and blew out all the passenges, and it started working again. Now I fired it up this morning and it wouldn't idle for squat! Plus, it made a very unpleasant sound. It turns out the header gasket (one of the 900* pieces from TA) has literally blown out. It has broken and is hanging out of the #1 port. What is the secret to getting more than a couple hundred miles out of header gaskets? I use the Stage8 locking bolts. Also, now NEITHER of my idle mixture screws does anything.uzzled: I understand that is common with a blown Power Valve. But is it common to blow a power valve when the header gasket blows? Are the 2 related? Will a blown header gasket make the idle mixture screws inoperative? Thanks y'all! Yardley
header gaskets Sounds like you may have a mating surface issue but I still swear by Postons header gaskets. Just curious are the stage-8 bolts stainless? Regards
Jeff , You need to re-torque header bolts at least 2 or 3 times after getting them warm, it's best to re-torque hot, just be careful, you will have to let things cool down for that pesky center bolt. I have never really had header gasket issue problems with my 455. The blown header gasket should have no connection to the blown power valve. WHat commonly blows power valves is a backfire in the intake. Jim Burek
USE Ultra-Copper RTV on the gaskets.apply a bead let it set-up and install. Then re-torque like you would indulge in a bad habit.....
Re: header gaskets Yes they are stainless. It looks like the purple TA gaskets are just very brittle. It looks like it has been broken for a long time, probably since I put it in. Seems it always sounded funny up there. The gasket at the #7 port was broken too. I replaced it with TA's pink one. I'll tell you all what, those Stage8 fasteners work great. I didn't retorque them at all and they were still tight as a bitch to get loose. And the AC ring seal trick is absolutely the BEST! Give me my props, eh? If you are using the shorty headers, just roll an AC ring seal over the threads of the center bolt instead of the masking tape trick TA recommends. I used it again and the center bolt threaded right in. Bolting on the header took 5 minutes. Now, as for dropping the steering box and pulling the engine mount bolt and fan shroud to jack the engine up high enough to get the header out, that took some prep time. It actually took longer to pull the front wheel than to remove the 3 bolts from the steering box. out
Several years ago I worked at a place that made silicon wafers for the semi-conductor industry. On the furnace tanks we used to "grow" the crystals we had some applications where we used this graphite impregnated material that was allways referred to as "graphelt". The premium gaskets from postons are made of (what appears to be) the same material mentioned above. I've had ZERO trouble with header leaks using these gaskets. When I swapped in the stage 1 heads last year I thought about trying a set of the copper gaskets. My friend and I tried them on his Olds 455 (leak-0-rama!) and they did a good job, but at $30 vs $15 I had to stick with what I knew worked... Your results may vary but I really like these gaskets. regards
header bolts My car has been parked about 10 yrs, but think I remember doubling up some Kenny-Bell gaskets and using lock-tite on the threads. Is this a big no-no? I didn't have any problems back then, and I sure don't want any once I finish (hopefully this Summer). However I will be going back to the manifolds.
The TA gaskets are also grahite of some sort. My idle problem was caused by my secondaries dumping fuel at idle and with the engine off as well. I've taken it apart, blown everthing out (AGAIN). I'll replace the fuel filter and reset the floats. I'll see what I get. out
Re: header gaskets Hi Guys, Ken.......the Stage8 bolts that I have are not stainless. I purchased these probably 6 or 7 years ago. So....maybe the newer ones that Jeff has are.o No: Please do not consider this as calling Jeff a liar or anything like that!:grin:
An old exhaust man told me go around the header bolts on every oil change and you'll never have a problem. So far he's right. Yardley; I keep tellin' ya to use a Quadra-Jet! :laugh:
Quadrajet... Quadrajet... Hmmmmm... Let's see.... Oh yeah, didn't they used to make those a LONG time ago? :laugh:
A Long Time Ago..... Yeah Jeff, they stopped making Q-Jets JUST AFTER THEY QUIT MAKING Buick 455's.......... Well, maybe a little later - but do you see the connection???
<---------------still has at least one original TA header gasket - only been on the car for 7 years and 10k miles. Lost the other gasket to a loose bolt after 4 years. Replaced that header gasket with a (get this!) Felpro - that funky metal gasket thingy and some red rtv silicone that I had laying around for a couple of decades. Best advice on these header gaskets though is to run those bolts every chance you get for about 3 months and then a few times a year. Adam's suggestion regarding every oil change is right-on. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet. Yardley -Q-jet.
I have set of copper gaskets and some Ultra Copper sealant and plan to install some headers. Am I supposed to put the sealant on both sides of the gasket or just between the gasket and header?
Dont feel bad, I cant get the TA purple gaskets to last long either. They seem to not like the highway speeds. Shoot, and I dont even have a high compression motor, just turning 3100 RPM at about 65 MPH. Always blow apart on the expressway.
Am I correct to assume that the Ultra Copper goes on both sides of the copper gasket? Also which way does the gasket face--raised/printed side towards the header or head?
I run a Holley 650 DP Spread bore (6210-1) on my 455. I have had that same problem w/ Secondaries hanging open a touch and causing idle to vary. I lubed my linkage and that seemed to take care of the problem. I like large displacement motors, especially the hugely "over square" motors eg 455 buick and 460 ford, because of their excellent low end torque. As such, I have found that 650 cfm and cast iron manifolds are the ideal method or preventing me from grenading a design that was created for 1500 rpm cruising. I bolt them metal to metal and haven't had a leak ever. Tom.
I had the same problem with mine right after I built the engine, I added a small return spring for the secondaries and never had another problem.
