So I have a 1986 Camaro IROC Z with Hooker shorty headers. My header gaskets are blown and no doubt leaking. I've spent all morning just trying to loosen the bolts on the headers. I brought a 7/16 low profile wrench and have both a 7/16 shallow and deep socket for my 1/4 drive. However, the collectors, especially on #1, #2, #7 and #8 are in the way. Even using the low profile wrench, the open end jaws of the wrench get in the way. Then trying to use the drive with even an extension, the socket still gets caught on the collector and won't turn.

A shop installed the headers many years ago. Any tools or parts to make this job easier?

 

Patience.

Then put them back with stainless Allen bolts and plenty of anti-seize.

I HIGHLY recommend the Remflex gaskets in such situations. Rather $$$, but don't "require" retorquing (they benefit from it of course, just don't "require" it so much) and are a good bit sturdier than most others. Also seem less prone to leaving cracks around tubes and ports where they don't quite exactly seal, compared to some. Header mfrs always seem to want to make their holes as large as possible, while header tubes and head ports are mostly MUCH smaller.

 

I'll run by the auto parts store or harbor freight to see if I can find a different socket or wrench.
I'll pick up some of those allen bolts too.

 

Lowe's

 

Or my NAPA store has a True Value hardware attached. They have them.

 

Does anyone have any tips for getting the new gasket lined up to the holes on both the headers and the cylinder head? I've been fighting with this thing for days now. I got the header bolts off, got the old gasket out and the new one in. I cannot for the life of me get the new gasket to line up correctly and get a single bolt on! There is no room to work with or any play. This is without a doubt the single most frustrating repair I have done on this car.

 

first make sure the gaskets fit the headers properly, that you don't have a wrong set

otherwise it should not be so difficult. start with one bolt (front or rear) and go from there.

if you've still got the y-pipe attached to the headers it can be a pain...just remove it

 

I'm assuming it's the right set. I have Hooker Shorty Headers with Fel-Pro 1404 gaskets. That's correct right?

 

I can't speak to part #s in this matter. Unlike most other matters, where those are the gold standard. Header gaskets are DIFFERENT that way.

There's too much variation in heads and headers. I've had header gaskets that had square ports, but the header ports were round, and the corners of the gasket ports were outside of the header "flange" circle. Leeeeeeeks. I've had heads where the port of the gasket fell outside of the "flange" on the head that surrounds the exh port. Leeeeeeeeeeks. I've had headers where the "flange" "circle" fell partway inside the head port or outside of the head "flange", meaning, it NEVER clamped down on the gasket. Leeeeeeeeks. (no gaskets can possibly seal against that) I've had headers that the flanges were warped; heads with stripped bolt holes, bolt holes that the bolts bottomed; LEEEEEEEKS. There's about A MILLION WAYS for header gaskets to leeeeeeeeek.

THE ONLY WAY I've ever found that's reliable, to tell whether they would leeeeeeeeeek or not, is to lay them against both parts and inspect CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY whether all 3 parts (header, gasket, & heads) are compatible. Sometimes you can't tell until you bolt em up and see where the imprint is, on BOTH sides of the gasket. Some headers will NEVER seal to some heads, no matter what you do. Not all stock heads are the same; not all headers are the same; there's A VAST array of gaskets out there, with square ports, round ports, D ports, large ports, small ports, thick, thin, YOU NAME IT variations.

That said, the Remflex gaskets are thick enough, and stout enough, that even if there are minor fitment problems of the sort I'm describing but they're not too severe, they have a better chance of not blowing out. The cheeeeeep white material is GARBAGE: I will NEVER use that crap again. I've never used aluminum ones but that seems much better. I've used acoupla brands of copper ones over the years and those didn't blow out, but I recall fitment issues at the corner of the ports with some of em. The stock replacement metal & composition ones like come in head gasket sets, believe it or not, sometimes are just fine too.

Sometimes the best you can do is to put in a set of blowout-proof ones such as copper, run em for a few weeks, then take em back apart and see if and where they leeeeeeeeeked, by the soot witness marks; then find gaskets that don't have leeeeeeks at that point.

There's no easy way to predict any of this unfortunately in my experience. It's one of the worst features of headers in a general way. Closely followed by those useless 3-bolt flanges they use at the collectors.