Yesterday when I went to replace the exhaust manifold gasket on my 430 I failed to correct, or even change, the leak. It looks like the #8 port is warped outward at the rear of the manifold. Is this possible or is it more likely that I got a junk gasket from Carquest? o No:
Did you have the manifold surfaced so it's straight? I couldn't get my manifolds to seal for ANYTHING when I swapped the head gaskets.... I just got headers instead:grin:
Check the cylinder head too. I've got a 360 Dodge in an old motorhome and after the exhaust shop put the second set of gaskets in it they finally checked the head. The surface on the head is actually "washed out" from the leak. Now I have to pull the head and have it welded up and then machined smooth again. I've never seen this before but a friend who runs an engine shop didn't seem too surprised. Qouted me about 150.00 for the welding and machining.
Exaust manifolds can warp, seen it many times. Have the manifold surfaced and clean the head very well. Last but not least, toss the gaskets over your sholder or drop them in the dumpster!!!!!:shock: No exaust manifold gaskets are required, unless you like to fix leaks........ o No:
Thanks Mike, I wondered why I couldn't find pieces of an old gasket. That's the answer I needed. If I'm gonna have to machine one manifold I should go ahead and do both. I've heard that some flow work can be done to them. What could I gain from that with the rest of the setup remaining stock? This car is all factory equipment and I want to keep it that way so I won't be doing a cam or headers. I'm not worried about pipes, mufflers, and tires but otherwise I like it to be the way they built it in 1968. Any suggestions?
Some porting can be done, however it dosen't have the same effect as headers. It's still a manifold design, unlike a header design with individual pipes. TA's shorty headers work very well on the dyno, showing some good gains over stock exaust manifolds, while still keeping your stock exaust system. Something to think about!! I wouldn't spend alot of money on the exaust manifolds. Just clean'm up, surface them and bolt'm back on.
