Junk Header Gaskets!!! Now, opinions needed.

I got a copper set from summit- like $50 bucks delivered to my door in 3 days- in Hawaii!! I haven't run the engine- but they're .062 thick, malleable, and copper gaskets are the only thing I've ever found to work on the motors we build-every time. I'm sure other people have different experiences, but for my money, I buy copper whenever I can- its worth not having to mess with it again.

 

Bolting them on and off isn't the problem. It's bolting them on and getting then sealed without all that extra maintenance.

 

For what ever it is worth I have sold red, green, white, black, grey, paper, metal clad, copper and aluminum header gaskets for Buicks, Chevy's, Ford's, and everything else in the last 35 years and I have seen people have as good of luck with cheap gaskets as the top of the line gaskets. But I have to agree with Patton, the mating surfaces of the header is more important than the gasket. Most headers need attention to the welds that are on the back of the flange to make sure they are paralel to the flange and are even 360 around the pipe. Those surfaces can be ground flat with a hand held grinder and in a lot of cases need re-weldeding to fill voids. Also headers that have been tightened several times will warp and may need attention again.
Mike Phillips

 

I've found something that really works well, but it's not going to be available for BBB's until someone like TA or Poston's steps up and orders them.

Exhaust gaskets for 215's have been a problem as long as those engines have been around, but when Rover decided just a few years ago to do a serious job of sealing up the engine they really did a first class job of it and their exhaust gaskets are a thing of beauty. They are made of a multi-layered stamped stainless steel laminate spot welded together with sealing rings stamped into each layer and reversed for a thickness buildup in that area. A little expensive, but a permanent solution. The material is springy enough to not flatten from the heat and pressure so it seals good and can be reused over and over without having to be annealed. It also helps with the problem of the bolts loosening since there is always spring pressure on the flanges.

They made a really good lifter valley cover for that motor too, made of tin with neoprene coating both sides. Better than anything else available.

Jim

 

If this would have been mentioned in your catolog then i wouldnt have wasted 2 sets.

 

if they made headers with thick solid flanges that bolted on like factory
style steel tube exhaust manifolds(gn/olds 307,4.3 chevy v6)
these dont need gaskets. and i have used edelbrock header kits for chevys
and the bolt right on with very think flanges althou they do give you the cheap white ones with the headers .mustang engines have tube style manifolds and dont need gaskets.
just my thoughts
i use exhaust manifolds more often because i dont like header gasket problems
:rant:

 

Which TA header gaskets are the pink ones?

TA 1720A or TA 1720B? Or where would I get the copper ones?

Any surface prep needed?

 

1720A, actually cranberry. 825F. Surface prep?? Clean old gaskets off o No: ?

 

i didnt read the whole posting. maybe these were already talked about but thorw a set of these on and you will be done. :Smarty: http://catalog.remflex.com/BUICK_Header_Exhaust_Manifold_Gasket_p/rf13-001.htm no re torquing or leaking AT ALL. good luck:TU:

 

I got tired of replacing my header gaskets!!! So I bought a set of factory manifold gaskets 3 years ago to try. Figured what the hell nothing else has lasted and they are still being used without a problem.:TU:
Doug

 

Don't know if this was mentioned at all . . .

If you end up using el cheapo gaskets (stock manifold gaskets), try soaking them in water for about 10 min. and then install. Run the car, then tighten again. Not really sure why it works, but it's worked for me.

 

Hot tip, I burned many sets of header gaskets. Then I tried torquing the header bolts with the new gaskets. That was the end of the problem. Its impossible to get the right torque by hand with an end wrench.

 

Great luck with the carbon gaskets, had my headers off a few time and the original set is still sealing great

 

Agreed, but what do you do when a wrench is the only tool you can fit in that tight space? :Brow:

 

I have used stock manifold gaskets since I was first running headers on my cars in high school. But with a twist. Buy two sets and take the two gaskets that are mirror images of each other. Put the gasket side facing each other with the tin sides to the out side. You wind up with the gasket material trapped between the tin on the outside. (Hope that is clear as mud.) I have done this for 30 plus years and can't think of a time I have ever had to replace gaskets when done this way. Also a lot cheaper than some of the high dollar gaskets out there. And no problems with gasket material stuck to headers or heads.

 

I'll second the stock replacement manifold gaskets as well.

I used to work on a local circle track car and we went through every type of high dollar header gasket you can think of. One time, out of desperation, I threw a Fel Pro set we had lying around leftover from a full gasket set intending to have to replace them after the first race.

But we used those things over and over and never had a problem. And we had that motor in and out 100 times.

The driver thought he was Dale Earnhardt but he really drove like Mr Magoo. He hit everything but the lottery with that thing!

 

remflex on my 350 because i couldnt get percys deadsoft
theyve been great so far used em in many customers cars with lots of luck too

 

Postons silvers were the best no problems...now we have all these different gaskets from the same company ??? T/A why ??? Good Gasket No Problems just need one Ive used T/A black leaked bad..come on give us Your best

 

Copper - no problems, bought off of ebay.

 

2 Years TA Header gasket stock type (grey) and 10k Miles, never a problem