#1, buy a good quality set of headers. Pay $69.95 for headers and you get what you pay for.
Good headers will have a 3/8" thick flange, 16ga tubing, and will come with quality gaskets that will not leak.

 

#1, buy a good quality set of headers. Pay $69.95 for headers and you get what you pay for.
Good headers will have a 3/8" thick flange, 16ga tubing, and will come with quality gaskets that will not leak.

Exactly. The cheapies all have 1/4" flanges and this is particularly a problem on the SBC which has only six bolts total for four ports per side. I have 3/8" flange stainless headers and use Mr Gasket copper gaskets. I've never had a leak and they're reusable as well. I've actually used the same set of gaskets on two different sets of headers already. I'll probably be changing headers again before too long and will use the same gaskets again.
Percy's Dead Seal aluminum gaskets have also been used by many with similar results.

 

You can double gasket them if you have to, my hedman's are.

 

If you use paper gaskets soak them in water 24 hours before use, the water makes them swell and hold moisture. For gaskets I recommend factory exhaust manifold gaskets, made of steel mesh they don`t burn out easy and they last a long time. they also don`t require removal of bolts, they have slots so you can just drop them in from the top. If the headers or bolts are new, it takes about 3 weeks of constant checks and retightening sessions on the header bolts before they`ll stay tight as they have not been seasoned in as of yet.

 

I agree with Doublevision totally on this one........the factory exhaust gaskets work well, and re tightening them is crucial. Another thing I have found is, if the flange is all one piece across the 4 tubes, make 2 cuts with a hacksaw to separate the end tubes from the middle 2. Headers with separate flanges on each tube seal better in my opinion.............Also, the bolts with a 7/16 head size work best for me.

 

thanks guys i didnt expect that much feedback already...
and all of youre advice is going to be very usefull

:thumbup:


what about my turbo systm posting anyone know anythign abot a ray jay turbo system??

 

these are what im looking at

pn# HOK-2462HKR on summit racing

they arent 400 bucks and the flange isnt exactly what you guys said but will they do?

i just dont have that much cash and would rather not ask my mother to bust out her card.. hahaha

austin

 

Leak problem

Double gaskets has always worked for me. Gotta tighten them a few times before they take a set and stay tight.

 

these are what im looking at

pn# HOK-2462HKR on summit racing

they arent 400 bucks and the flange isnt exactly what you guys said but will they do?

i just dont have that much cash and would rather not ask my mother to bust out her card.. hahaha

austin

The Hookers should have a 5/16" flange which isn't bad. Certainly much better than 1/4" ones.

 

Nitroseal!

I have had great luck with two steps:
1. Take your new headers into a machine shop that has a large bench sanding machine for surfacing heads, manifolds, etc. and lightly surface the flange. You will be surprised at the lack of a flat surface.

2. Victor Nitroseal exhaust gaskets are very good and also reusable, I also am using some Summit copper gaskets(different vehicle ), neither have leaked.

 

well hott damn, im gonna have a leak free motor in no time... thanks :welcome:

 

Question
If youve got the welded bead on the head side of the header flange, could you weld the pipes to the outer side of the flange and get the head side machined totally flat?

 

I cannot get my headers to seal up..

i want to get a new pair of full length so i really get something out of them..

but how should i go about making them seal and not leak?

Use copper or aluminum gaskets both header to head and collector to exhaust pipe.

You just have to get used to the fact that headers loosen up,well their bolts do. Some installations are more trouble free than others, it varies by engine, brand of header, type of bolts, the installer, poistion of the moon and God knows what else. The nice thing about all metal gaskets is that when the header comes loose, these gaskets are much less likely to burn through, so all you have to do is retorque the offending bolt(s), and poof the leak goes away.

Bogie

 

add another vote for factory gaskets, but i've started using the later model 96-98 vortec gaskets, they a MLS (multi layer steel), stronger than copper and cannot burn out. reusable too

 

Question
If youve got the welded bead on the head side of the header flange, could you weld the pipes to the outer side of the flange and get the head side machined totally flat?

No, the header flange is not thick enough, in my experience, to stay totally flat across the entire surface. The raised weld bead creates a high pressure sealing area that should not be removed.

 

add another vote for factory gaskets, but i've started using the later model 96-98 vortec gaskets, they a MLS (multi layer steel), stronger than copper and cannot burn out. reusable too

niicce i like that... how much are they? i guess i could get em from summit right?

 

A common trick in roundy round racing is to skip the gaskets and use high temp rtv such as ultra copper. Works pretty well.

 

I like the copper gaskets myself.
They have a thicker part around were the ports are and are reusable. Advanced has em so there easy to find to. HG

 

A common trick in roundy round racing is to skip the gaskets and use high temp rtv such as ultra copper. Works pretty well.

yea but this is my daily driver.. that stuff doesnt last long does it?

 

Used the dead seal gaskets on a sbc/jeep. Was tore apart a couple times, reused the gaskets, not the best headers in the world. Had to retorgue them once but those gaskets always reseal. I'll use them on everything from now on.

 

Question
If youve got the welded bead on the head side of the header flange, could you weld the pipes to the outer side of the flange and get the head side machined totally flat?

yes, kooks headers are done that way

 

yes, kooks headers are done that way

Nice one, thanks.
I might try it on mine.

 

if they aren't sealing right away make sure u are using the right gaskets
look at the headers see if the welds are round or square u can't use squares on round headers i can't tell u how many times i seen that to be the problem
try felpro or good quality gaskets the papers burn and blow right out

 

I've seen it go a whole season no idea how long it would hold up on the street.

 

don't know if you have these gaskets in your parts store but in Washington we have these gaskets called REM-FLEX they are 5/16 or thicker and have 50% crush and they don't leak their motto is if you don't likem you haven't tried them i don't however recommend them for the collectors i would use copper or aluminum there but they work great at the head to header location i use them and the only other thing i would use is the copper