Yet again my gaskets have perished at the exhaust manifold and at the collector pipe!!! My garage who did the job 4 months and about 1,500 miles ago say that they won't do the job free for me (this is the 3rd time this has happened!). I have religiously ensured the bolts have been tight on the manifold and still the things have started blowing!

A few questions;

1) Are self locking header bolts worth it (my macahnic says the actual gasket is shrinking under heat) Bear in mind I have ally heads and Shorty headers (steel)

2) Will Loctite do the job?

3) Could my headers be warped (like me )

4) Should he do the job free for me?

5) Are MR Gasket headers useless? And if so what should I use?

This is why people don't get headers apparantly, but I can't beleive this is going to have to be a 3 monthly ordeal.. It is costing approx. $390 EVERY time this happens as he reckons it is time consuming.

Please help I am losing my patience.. as is my wife

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'86 Iroc ZZ4
Best Run 13.8 @ 100mph
I told you to blow the bloody doors off!
The British Firebird/Camaro Site

 

390 dollars?? what is he doing putting new headers in? your getting porked!! go buy a 7/16" wrench and change them yourself for 12 bucks! buy a good set of gaskets felpeo makes good gaskets. try to get the metal laminated ones if you have not already. they should not burn out or blow out on you. i doubt they are warped unless you ran them with a bolt missing , or heated them up off the car (for clearancing) my first guess and question is...did they use good gaskets? if not try that. and i would do it myself if i were you. you will pickup some good skills working on your own car. and it should not be difficult at all

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87 z28 bowtie aluminum 420small block dry sump crower lt. wt. knife edged crank oliver lt wt rods brodix track 1's super ram intake slp 1 3/4 headers accel dfi art carr 700 r4 3.42 gears ssm sub frame/ladder bars.....other parts on the way ,soon to be finished!! couple more weeks!!!

http://people.ne.mediaone.net/gdm

 

I know, I know, prob is I don't have a garage, so all work would be on the street Plus my car is lowered and getting under it is a nightmare extraordinaire... How many hours do you reckon that job needs?

Ah and he used cheap gaskets last time.

 

get a set of Earl's pressuremaster header gaskets, they are great! I've had mine on for a year now and no problems at all....

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85 Z28- 350, Comp 262, Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock 600 cfm carb and Edelbrock cat back, Summit headers and vette servo
-JVC, Eclipse, Pioneer, MTX, Phoenix Gold, Planet Audio

 

Get Felpro gaskets PT Number 1444 and a set of Stage 8 bolts. 10,000 miles later and mine are good as new.

 

I'll second the felpro gaskets, haven't had any problems witb them. Im running edelbrock gaskets on the collector, and felpro on the heads. They are holding up good. Shouldn't take more than a few hours to change them all.

 

Use the Fel-Pro mentioned above or Mr Gasket Ultra seals. Both of these have a steel core and are very good gaskets. I've never used the Earl's Pressure masters, but I always heard good things about them. Whatever you do, don't use any of the cheap, white gaskets, no matter who makes them. I would also use either copper or dead soft aluminum collector gaskets. The aluminum ones are even reuseable. Another tip I always do, (and have never had any back out) is to put some High Temp Black RTV or Mega-Copper silicone on the header bolts. Some people have tried (successfuly, they claim) Loc-Tite, but I wouldn't recommend that myself.

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82 Z28 383, Ported 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads 72 cc Comb. Chambers, Comp custom grind Hyd roller cam, Speed Pro .250" domes, Wheeler Motorsports 4340 I beam rods, Eagle 5140 steel crank, Weiand Team G intake, Holley 830 DP, hedman headers
Trans: Turbo 350 w/ 4000 stall -- Rearend 7.5 w/ Richmond 4.10's, Auburn Minispool
Best ET:11.60 @ 114.56, w/ a 7.34 1/8 @ 93.50, and a 1.622 60'


89 RS, L03 305, Hypertech Chip,cat delete, Dynomax exhaust,K&N open element Filter,160 stat, MSD coil --Trans:700R4 Corvette Servo -- Rearend: 7.5 GM 3.42 w/ posi-lock

Bassett Racing

 

I use the Mr. Gasket Header gaskets mentioned above and I used Percy's dead-soft aluminum on the collectors because I was blowing them out every couple of months. I also use blue loctite on my header bolts and I have never had to retighten them. Yes, I checked them, they stay tight and no leaks.

 

I'd recommend copper gaskets. That's what I'm using when I install mine. I'm going to install the headers myself and drive it to the muffler shop, with open headers , and have them setup the Y-pipe.

 

I was thinking about buying those copper gaskets, but I just used fel pros.. are the copper ones worth the 50 bucks they cost? They are more expensive than the others.

 

Thanks everyone, this board is the best Appreciate your help!