Thread: V8 Inlet Manifold Gasket Options

Allmakes is about the same quality as some Britparts. They are cheap quality
Also how much did you skim off the heads?, as this lowers the head on the block, I had a problem once with tin gaskets and replaced it with a quality composite. The price difference is nothing really to worry about.

Have those heads been skimmed? And have you got the end seals under the end clamps?

You will often find that the end rubbers are too long and "jack up" the gasket until they are trimmed a bit on the ends and have sealant placed on the ends.

Also the manifold gasket will move down as the heads rest on it and increase the curve of the gasket.

I used to grind a bit out of the holes up to near the crush indentations.

If you have milled the heads you may also have to elongate the bolt holes.

I personally like the gaskets with the foam backing and used them when I had an RRC , but I have seen these delaminate and the rubber stuff droop down into the valley ( At Graeme Cooper's). I think they seal the waterways better.
Regards Philip A

That is just the poor casting of the heads , when i did my first 3.5 gasket change i scribed around the ports and opened them up with a die grinder.

Originally Posted by Roverlord off road spares

Allmakes is about the same quality as some Britparts. They are cheap quality
Also how much did you skim off the heads?, as this lowers the head on the block, I had a problem once with tin gaskets and replaced it with a quality composite. The price difference is nothing really to worry about.

Heads were skimmed the first time they were off about 10k ago but they were still well within spec

If the composite gaskets are better I will happily go that way but the consensus seemed to be that the metal gaskets were better

Originally Posted by sheerluck

Have those heads been skimmed? And have you got the end seals under the end clamps?

Yes and yes

I was wondering about tightening the end clamps down more, but it looked as if that would not really make enough difference

Originally Posted by PhilipA

You will often find that the end rubbers are too long and "jack up" the gasket until they are trimmed a bit on the ends and have sealant placed on the ends.

Also the manifold gasket will move down as the heads rest on it and increase the curve of the gasket.

I used to grind a bit out of the holes up to near the crush indentations.

If you have milled the heads you may also have to elongate the bolt holes.

I personally like the gaskets with the foam backing and used them when I had an RRC , but I have seen these delaminate and the rubber stuff droop down into the valley ( At Graeme Cooper's). I think they seal the waterways better.
Regards Philip A

I was wondering about those end rubbers as well we commented that they looked a little long. We could probably have made it fit by putting the manifold on and tightening it down but I was not happy to do that and it was time to pack up for the day anyway so i thought I would ask the sages at aulro

It may be possible for me to grind out enough to make it fit, but I will explore other options with Mario first I think

It seemed the consensus was metal with a smear of permatex, but if they don't fit properly on my engine then they are of no use !

Originally Posted by TheTree

Yes and yes

I was wondering about tightening the end clamps down more, but it looked as if that would not really make enough difference

Careful on the end clamps, they are only supposed to be lightly torqued if over tightened ( not hard to do) they will cause a leak at the end seals.
I have found that end seals always seem to be too long, I've tried different brands and Genuine and they just seem to buckle.
as Phil A said, they need trimming and don;t forget the dob of RTV on the ends.