I have a these headers Hooker 2460HKR and they came with a 1/16 gasket. I'm however having problems getting this thin gasket to seal. The flanges and the motor are not flat which is leaving space for exhaust leaks. A 1/8 thick gasket should be thick enough to make the seal good but I'm having problems finding a place that sells something thicker. Any ideas or a site to go too?

 

Use dead-soft aluminum gaskets. Many manufacturers these days, ususally even just on the shelf in Autozone. They are slightly more than a 1/4 inch thick, but compress when installed, and seal really well.

 

Adv Auto carries Mr Gasket dead soft aluminum for SBC's

For on-line, order Percy's seal-4-good from the usual suspects jegs etc

 

Be sure the flange is flat or no gasket will seal. Use a file to knock the high spots down, there shouldnt be much to worry about. Never had a problem with common paper gaskets when using high temp RTV and torquing the bolts in cycles

 

many , many times the cause of gasket leaks is improper preperation/installation . this is "NOT" a slam , make sure both surfaces are clean & flat . chase with a tap all mounting holes in head . clean holes with wd-40 or your choice with straw on can . install and torque "from the center out" . go back & re-torque from the center outward several times . did i mention torque from the center outward , center , rt. , lt. , rt. , lt. rt. , lt. one at a time with the bolts . start up , get warm re-torque a couple more times . good luck .

 

As silly as it sounds, thats the exact process for torquing header bolts and you will do it quite a few times. Miss it once and the gasket will blow out forcing you to start the whole process over again

 

ive always manifold gaskets and had the best luck with them but like said correct torquing is needed.

 

You can double up a set of regular paper gaskets too.