Header gaskets
- Thread starter TexasT
- Start date
Screaming Metal
Active Member
My absolute, favorite subject!!!!! This is one of my specialities.....besides blowers and intakes!
The things that cause a header gasket to leak:
1. Warped header flanges.
2. Bolts coming loose.
3. Poor gasket material.
4. A backfire under tremendous pressure......ie, blower, tunnelram dumping fuel into the exhause and it in turn igniting causing a secondary explosion within the headers.
I'll explain how you can deal with header gaskets and still keep your sanity.
If you can't afford the really expensive, cutom made headers, here's what you need to do........
A. If your header set has thick flanges, thats a plus. If the exhaust ports have been machined......this also will be a major help, but not totally necessary. Go get some copper or aluminum 'dead soft' header gaskets.
Clean them good with a fine wire brush, also your head sealing surface, and the header flange.
Now the quality abestos header gaskets will work, and they'll need to be changed several years down the road.....folks usually don't mind that too much.
B.You can get the headerbolts that have the key that fits on the head of the bolts.......you can get these thru Summit, and once you get your gasket on......tighten lightly 2 or 3 times and back off going across the whole header flange doing this......look and seeing how the gasket gap is doing. (The reason why exhaust manifolds don't leak are that they are so thick and so rigid.....heat doesn't induce the stress that makes them go all over the place, like the thin header flanges does.)
If you have a even gap as you snug down the flange......your ready to tighten them.
******Please Note- This is not for the straight foward east-to-do regular T headers. On some headers....getting to your bolts and getting a socket on them is a major undertaking. (I used to be a perfectionist.....it'd piss me off bad scratching up chrome headers or freshly painted headers. You do know chrome headers really store up the heat, Right?)******
---Go cut yourself a piece of 1/2 in. round stock, weld a little handle on it. Now.....you need to do this part BEfORE you attempt to put on your gaskets.
Put your bolts in and tighten them fairly snug, checking how the socket or wrench fits. When you find one that needs clearence.....get your spiffy, newly made tool, put the round part agianst the header pipe......and tap fairly hard with a big ballpeen or a drilling hammer. ( Now you run the risk of messing your crome up or paint up....so if you do this in the mockup stage....you can get this stuff touched up or redone/done).
Dimply the head pipes just enough to get clearence to tight these bolts, no more. Your tool shouldn't have any sharp edges on it or you could possibly tear your tubing. Also....try not to distort it too bad. By torqueing these down and dimpling the pipes.....they should stay fairly flat.
C. Put you gaskets on and torque them down, putting the lockes that come with your header bolts agianst the head pipe, so it won't rotate and loosen so the gasket won't get blowby and burn.
( For those hardcore do-it-yourselfers.......get safety wire and drill your heads or get safety bolts and cut them off to fit!)
D. Once you've run about a week, retighten your bolts, and lock them so they can't back off! Loctite also does wonders....but ya gotta get the right grade!!!!! When they get loose and the hot exhaust gasses by....thats when the gasket burns up!.........Using the dead soft copper or aluminum gaskets will probably be the last header gaskets you'll have to buy......unless your running in the altered ot Top Fuel Classes!
If you have a full bodied car or truck, you can get your headers....loosen off the bolts......slot them out so you can slide them into place and then do the tightening thing. Just get them tight and keep them tight....thats the trick!!!!! Me, myself personally.......I use studs with a tabbed washer.....bend the tab agianst the nut.....they can't go anywhere.
Hope this helps.........I haven't had any exhaust leakage in 25 years.......
Gone Racin' for a few days.............did I hear someonesay something about getting ready for the Nationals?????
The things that cause a header gasket to leak:
1. Warped header flanges.
2. Bolts coming loose.
3. Poor gasket material.
4. A backfire under tremendous pressure......ie, blower, tunnelram dumping fuel into the exhause and it in turn igniting causing a secondary explosion within the headers.
I'll explain how you can deal with header gaskets and still keep your sanity.
If you can't afford the really expensive, cutom made headers, here's what you need to do........
A. If your header set has thick flanges, thats a plus. If the exhaust ports have been machined......this also will be a major help, but not totally necessary. Go get some copper or aluminum 'dead soft' header gaskets.
Clean them good with a fine wire brush, also your head sealing surface, and the header flange.
Now the quality abestos header gaskets will work, and they'll need to be changed several years down the road.....folks usually don't mind that too much.
B.You can get the headerbolts that have the key that fits on the head of the bolts.......you can get these thru Summit, and once you get your gasket on......tighten lightly 2 or 3 times and back off going across the whole header flange doing this......look and seeing how the gasket gap is doing. (The reason why exhaust manifolds don't leak are that they are so thick and so rigid.....heat doesn't induce the stress that makes them go all over the place, like the thin header flanges does.)
If you have a even gap as you snug down the flange......your ready to tighten them.
******Please Note- This is not for the straight foward east-to-do regular T headers. On some headers....getting to your bolts and getting a socket on them is a major undertaking. (I used to be a perfectionist.....it'd piss me off bad scratching up chrome headers or freshly painted headers. You do know chrome headers really store up the heat, Right?)******
---Go cut yourself a piece of 1/2 in. round stock, weld a little handle on it. Now.....you need to do this part BEfORE you attempt to put on your gaskets.
Put your bolts in and tighten them fairly snug, checking how the socket or wrench fits. When you find one that needs clearence.....get your spiffy, newly made tool, put the round part agianst the header pipe......and tap fairly hard with a big ballpeen or a drilling hammer. ( Now you run the risk of messing your crome up or paint up....so if you do this in the mockup stage....you can get this stuff touched up or redone/done).
Dimply the head pipes just enough to get clearence to tight these bolts, no more. Your tool shouldn't have any sharp edges on it or you could possibly tear your tubing. Also....try not to distort it too bad. By torqueing these down and dimpling the pipes.....they should stay fairly flat.
C. Put you gaskets on and torque them down, putting the lockes that come with your header bolts agianst the head pipe, so it won't rotate and loosen so the gasket won't get blowby and burn.
( For those hardcore do-it-yourselfers.......get safety wire and drill your heads or get safety bolts and cut them off to fit!)
D. Once you've run about a week, retighten your bolts, and lock them so they can't back off! Loctite also does wonders....but ya gotta get the right grade!!!!! When they get loose and the hot exhaust gasses by....thats when the gasket burns up!.........Using the dead soft copper or aluminum gaskets will probably be the last header gaskets you'll have to buy......unless your running in the altered ot Top Fuel Classes!
If you have a full bodied car or truck, you can get your headers....loosen off the bolts......slot them out so you can slide them into place and then do the tightening thing. Just get them tight and keep them tight....thats the trick!!!!! Me, myself personally.......I use studs with a tabbed washer.....bend the tab agianst the nut.....they can't go anywhere.
Hope this helps.........I haven't had any exhaust leakage in 25 years.......
Gone Racin' for a few days.............did I hear someonesay something about getting ready for the Nationals?????
blownt
Member
I have always had header leaks since I have run the Hooker big tube roadster headers. There is the regular gasket between the head and the adapter plate which I do not have a problem with. BUT the Hooker special gasket between the adapter plate and the big tube headers that have the Stahl exhaust gasket pattern do not last long until I get a leak. I have replaced them about 3 times in the last year and they are leaking again right now. I have found a place that makes the copper gasket in the Stahl pattern but I bet they are friggin expensive.
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