well i have edlebrock tes shorty headers and y-pipe... ive had the same gaskets in there since i put em on.. i used mr. gasket soft seal gasket. they sealed great! except for the rear passenger... i couldnt get to the bolt so it wasnt completely tightened. so it ended up burning out the gasket and leaking, i finally got around to fixing it so i changed both gaskets the passenger side is great no problems, but now the driver side gasket burnt out after a couple days on the middle of the primary. i replaced it today and crunk it up, still have a slight leak. i can hear it ticking a little. i used high temp silicone everytime i put a new gasket in. i dont know what to do. i dont think it is the gasket itself b/c the passenger side is SEALED the driver side is leaking and i cranked the bolts so its not like the bolts are loose. i use a 1/2 pull bar to tighten em down so they are ON there. any idea's/suggestions?

also i have a 3" exhaust cutout and im having trouble sealing it up too. i have just a chep gasket in there, what is the best to use for that aluminum, metal, copper, or what? the plate that caps the cutout off is held on with wing nuts so im sure it doesnt get as secure as possible but id like to seal it too.

id appreciate some help on these issues. what do u think i should do?

I have the copper header gaskets that adavanced auto sells i guess they are mr gasket. they seal fine on my hookers. As for the collectors i used some of the dead soft alum gsakets that advanced sells with an assload of copper RTV ( my flanges are bent some how lol) no problems

I just put my headers back on today. Used Percy's Aluminum gaskets and Stage 8 locking bolts.

i was thinking about the copper but havent heard much about them... it sounds like my headers are leaking but i might need to change the doughnuts also, i havent changed them in awhile.

mmm doughnuts.... yea change them i suppose.. it is a might-as-well proposition... but i havent had any problems with my header gaskets... i bought

Don't get Mr. Gasket anything.

Try a set of Fel Pro 1406's. They are steel core laminate and conform to the shape of the flange, so if it is slightly warped, it will seal. Either that or get 'dead soft' aluminum ones which do the same but are thicker, or copper ones which are great too.

i was thinking of going with the aluminum crush gaskets but again havent heard much about them.. im thinking the flange might be bent or something b/c i swear i have done everything i can to get these things to seal. the last time i removed the y-pipe the doughnut gaskets looked ok so i just reused them, the exhaust leak does sound like its coming from the header area anyways. why the grudge with mr. gasket?

maybe what i need to do is completely remove the header and scrape the flange down incase pieces of the old gasket are stuck to it causing high and low spots... do you think this might be a possibility. it is not fun removing the whole header and i really dont want to do it, but i cannot stand leaking header gaskets....

my mr gasket copper header gaskets are great... been on 3 motors no problem...

lol my collector flanges are so bent you can see them easy

I had a similar problem, the headers were leaking through the bolt holes. A ton of high-temp silicone finally took care of it.

After several experiences with Edelbrock products, I will avoid them in the future.

TA

A number of us here locally in Southern California have had good luck with the Earl's Perfromance header gaskets. Summit Racing sells them. I know a couple of us have had bolts come completely out and the gasket was still sealing.

On my Trans Am I used the Earl's gaskets with the Breslin header bolts. An awesome combination. However the Breslin bolts are no longer available. On my 2000 Tahoe I went with the Earls and the Stage 8 header bolts. This should work equally as well.

I had problems with every type of header gasket there is until I started spraying them with copper cote before I installed them. Let it dry before installing them. You can try some 12 point 5/16 or 3/8 ss ARP header bolts if you can`t get a wrench on some. I later found out that I need to tighten the header bolts on a regular basis, especially after the first few run and cool down cycles.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/carb...llett-car.html



https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...hings-not.html


Worth a read to save yourself some aggravation in the future.

ive been going through these gaskets and i also bought an adjustable fuel pressure regulator... when i have it set on 1 psi it puts out 7. and every "1" increment you go up on the regulator the pressure goes up 1 from seven. i have a fuel pressure gauge in line JUST after the regulator so i know it is accurate. this is on my nitrous system... if i would hooked up this regulator and just expected it to work i would have had MAJOR MAJOR problems. i guess ill be taking the pressure regulator back and idk if they will take the gaskets back they were DEFFINATELY installed properly but keep blowing out.

i think i know the fuel filter that guy used. its a super cheap glass one from advanced auto parts... i used it too but unlike that guy i checked the thing under pressure. I notice my filter leaked like a civ instantly, never started the car and avoided a fire.

im not sayign anything about that guy but as a guy in the automotive industry i know enough to check that kinda stuff... well even before in my hobby days i did too

I just read the other thread and i don't really feel bad for someone who got burned 5 times by one company... i usually get felpros with no problems but if i ever buy anything and have a problem i give em one chance to fix it then if it isn't rectified they go on my **** list and i never deal with em again.

BTW i especially like how he got like 2 or 3 of the same header gasket that failed each time.

Have you done this yet? because if not you're just going to keep chasing your tail. I watched my friend do it on his 5.0 Mustang. He had an exhaust leak and thought it was his gasket. He changed it without scraping the head and caused an even worse leak. In the end his header is cracked and needs to be welded.

I'd say remove the header, clean both the head and the header flange. Put a straight edge to the header and make sure it's straight. If not you'll have a heck of a time getting it to seal. If it's off by just a pinch you may be able to true it up or have a shop do it.

I've been dealing with leaky headers on my SS, mostly because I used the generic paper gaskets that came with the kit...live and learn. I'll definitely be going to a metal gasket when I do my 'bird.

I had the best luck with Mr. Gasket Ultras as long as I sprayed copper cote on them and let them dry before I installed them, then re-tighten the header bolts after the first heat/cool cycle and monthly after that. The copper gaskets and dead soft aluminum did not work for me nor did any other gasket except the Ultras.

What DLV555 just posted is right on! Sorry to have forgotten to mention to check the head and header flange to make sure they are flat. Use a short straight edge if there is room.

I used the Mr. Gasket copper gaskets, on 3 different engines and they are still good.

im going to try the 1406 feel-pro's... if those dont work imma try the crush aluminum ones.

i ordered in the 1406's and they are for D port heads... i dont think mine are D port..?