Hi, I have an exhaust leak and I think it's being caused by warp of the head. I had the manifold machined and it only helped a little. Does anyone know if the remflex exhaust gaskets really do work or if there are any other products out there? I really don't want to tear this thing apart. Thanks.
I had to replace my exhaust manifold gaskets on my 352 several times before someone suggested I double them up. Problem fixed. I had the manifolds re-surfaced, and had tried various gaskets before that simple fix...good luck
Doubling them up can work, depending on the type of gasket. A couple of other possibilities you might try.... Use paper header gaskets, like the cheaper line from Mr. Gasket. You may need to trim them to fit. Soak them in water until they are thoroughly wet (not falling apart wet, but saturated). Install them while they are wet & torque the manifold to spec. Fire the engine & let it run for a minute or two, not longer, then re-torque the manifold & let it sit to dry. Thirdly, go get some hi-temp Permatex RTV silicone from the parts store & use it in place of the gasket, or on both sides of the gasket (works better without any gasket at all, at least with headers...dunno about a manifold.) Run your beads of RTV & let it cure or "skin" according to the directions on the tube before you install the manifold, around 20-30 minutes or so. Assemble it, torque, let it cure overnight without running, & proceed as usual. Don't bother with reg. low-temp RTV, it's a waste of time. The FE heads seem often to have warped exhaust flanges & need a resurface, but they aren't the only ones...
Great ideas... I will give these methods a try and repost with my results when I get them. Thanks again.
Since finding this product I do not ever use exhaust gaskets any more. Probably sounds to good to be true and I thought so also till I used it. It is only sold by Chrysler and is there Gear sealant product. It's an RTV type product. There part # is 82300234. I use it on the race car with Alumn heads and have Never had a leak, infact you can remove all the bolts once cured and run the motor. The headers will not blow off, it's tuff shit and it works. It has also fixed leaks from bad manifold and head surfaces. Try it yourself or you'll just think I'm full of Balogona. You can thank me latter. To remove my Headers I use a thin putty knife and push it through the sealant, no problem. The Wizzard
The Remflex gaskets do in FACT work! I have warped manifolds and head flanges on my 390 - quiet as new with the Remflex gaskets! WAy cheaper and easier than pulling everything apart to surface it all. They have been in almost a year. Working well on the header flanges of the SBC in the '46 Studebaker as well.
This is a real grassroots solution but it worked for me...I had a '65 F250 with a 352, and one of the exhaust manifolds had a bad leak. The gasket had burned out and it had leaked long enough that the surface of the manifold had eroded away. I took it off, clamped it in the bench vise, and went over the flange with a belt sander until the whole thing was as flat as I could get it. I put it back together and it worked great.
All Fe's exhaust seem to leak at some stage.Ive recently have pulled the engine in my wifes 63 t/bird 390 & while it was out I replaced all the gaskets but I was able to torque them up evenly & have had no probs yet,,touch wood! All I do when they leak is double them up by cutting another gasket up & double them up where the leak is.Use some good rtv silastic & your away,seems to work for me. deadbeat
If you have room you can take a Nicholson flat mill file and file the surface flat. Till it is shiny all around the exhaust port. This will do the same as having it milled in a machine. It will just take a little more elbow grease.
Ford FE motors have at least two exhaust port heights. If I remember right (and it's been a while since I had mine), headers are usually made for the higher port heads. This sometimes causes problems for Ford truck guys who usually run the lower port heads. Line up your gaskets and make sure the cast iron actually overlaps. www.fordtrucks.com has had interesting discussions on it (five or six years ago). .
Welcome to FEs! Everyone I ever owned had an exhaust leak. Get the manifold milled and use copper gaskets. Always worked for me.
If Fe's are like other Ford engines, they never came with a gasket from the factory. My 351 C used to give me fits until a real Ford mechanic told me to not use an exhaust manifold gasket as they never came with any from the factory. They rely on the machined surfaces for the seal.
I am going to try your to-good-to-be-true suggestion for my leaking 352 exhaust. I picked up the product and have a couple of questions. Do you coat both surfaces? Use liberally? What is the cure time? (OK a few questions). Much appreciated...
I am posting this from The Wizzard (Pis-N-Broke). Ths guy knows his stuff!!! I tried several other options but the recommendation from The Wizzard worked for me...hope it works for you. I put on a thin but not sparse wide coat around all 4 ports on both manifold surfaces. I let it set maybe 1/2 hour till just surface cured so it don't smear while installing header. Then install all flange bolts and pull up against head leaving minor space for sealant, (maybe .100) let it set over night and do final tighten and fire it up. So the thing you want is just enough sealant to seal but not so much that it ozzes out into the exhaust port, just enough to make the seal. Think about the thickness of an asbestos header gasket, that's where you want to be. The Wizzard
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