i got some mr. gasket gaskets for the intake at advanced auto and they seem to over hang into the intake port which i know isnt good but i havent ground on any but one intake yet and they hang over all of them. the heads are 081 heads can someone recomend some good (leak resistant) nicely priced gaskets for intake and exaust that make good ones to gasket match too?? thanks
John

 

and a part number if u know one...thanks im sure someone knows one cause this is a popular swap for tbi fellas i belive.
John

 

I just use felpro, and I've never had any problems. I have however had problems with ANY Mr. Gasket products I have ever bought. Crappy intake gasket fit, broken rocker stud, blown header gaskets, ect.

 

hmmm I think my thermostat gaskets were Mr. Gasket ... both I tried sucked .. I just went with black sealant .. and no problem

Felpro .. I used a Felpro gasket when my old intake gasket was leaking ... bad vacuum leak .... went smooth.. no problem

 

any kind of part numbers they offer so many diff sizes and thickness im not sure on a good or right one? thanks
John

 

Check out the "LT1 cam digest". There are part numbers for intake gaskets.

 

beautiful i will do that i have them saved on my pc at home....as for the exaust gaskets ill just get felpro ones too i suppose unless someone thinks they arent very good and prone to leaking. thanks for the help fellas
John

 

""""""""hang into the intake port which i know isnt good but i havent ground on any but one intake yet and they hang over all of them""""""

With aftermarket/performance type gaskets there are a variety of port sizes availiable, and for the 081 heads with squared away ports, you will need something a bit larger than the stock port size gasket, in order to get a decent match.

What you need to do is measure the intake port height and width and also the relationship of the ports to the centerline of the bolt holes in the heads. Check the various catalogs for these different sizes.

You might find an off the shelf part that will fit your heads. If not you can use a performance style polyester/vegetable fibre gasket (looks medium to dark grey and is a soft, plain gasket) and adhese it to the head then cut as necessary with an exacto knife to match your cylinder head port face.

Do your hacking/cuting grinding first. Then the gasket then check the manifold to see what that needs.Its not so much the product but an installation issue.....have fun.

 

you say measure the ports do i measure at a diaginal angle or just top to bottom left to right?? and as far as the centerline i dont quite follow but i read through it pretty fast and dont have the heads in front of me so im not sure if u mean where the center of the port is in relation to the top and bottom of the head or where the port is in relation to the bolt holes?? and i thought u have to find the gasket and then try and gasket match before u grind on em cause id hate to open them up to much then be stuck w/ a worse head than stock. thanks
John

 

"""""""you say measure the ports do i measure at a diaginal angle or just top to bottom left to right?? """""""""

top to bottom is the port height.

Left to right is the port width.

Use a dial verneir and express the measurements in X.XXX"


""""and as far as the centerline """"

this measurement gives you a relative reading of how high or low a port is in relation to the bolt cenerline. Use a straightedge to pick up the bolt hole centerlines and scribe....measure the line to the top or bottom of the port. Express as .125" (example) raised port or .XXX" raised port. Many aftermarket heads have ports that are raised UP....a little or a lot. So not only are gaskets made with diferent port DIMENSIONS, they are also made with diferent port HEIGHTs. Dont spend a lot of time polishing. Somewhat rough finish is good. Keeping this down to a mild roar you wont screw any thing up. Going further into the heads /manifold you can cause some pain if you dont know the drill.


""""""and gasket match"""

yes you can sometimes do more harm than good. Port matching so the head port matches the manifold port is good on a SBC. Smooth and big radius at the top...it's nice to square away the head port so the sidewalls are parallel as well as the roof and floor walls. Use red or blue Dykem, a scribe and a straight edge/tri/t/square and lay out what U want to grind to. Dont go more than 1" down the cyl head with a good blend. Same with the manifold. Dont remove a lot of material, just correct the mismatch. The gasket should not hang inside the port but be outside of the port about .015- .020" or so.