Need Help Sealing Exhaust Manifold

[kurtis9813]

Ok. I have a 98 legacy outback that I just replaced head gaskets on. After starting it up I noticed a sizable leak from where the headers meet the heads. I block sanded both surfaces and used new Fel Pro gaskets. Have had trouble getting a good seal on other cars in the past as well. Wondering what gaskets you guys prefer, thinking maybe the Fel Pro is not the best for this application, as well as what gasket sealants might help for a better seal, and if anybody knows the torque spec on the studs too. Any advice would be appreciated. thanks.

[johnegg]

i had a similar problem on my 00 lego.

 

when you removed the exhaust,

did some of the studs come out of the head,

rather than the nuts coming off of the stud?

 

if the new gasket is thinner than the old,

the stud will bottom out before the nust get tight enough to seal the gasket.

 

so either buy new studs and nuts,

or a thicker gasket.

or add washers to the set up.

 

i would use a really high temp anti-seize on the studs and nuts.

 

 

i hope your problem is the same as mine.

easy to fix.

[kurtis9813]

That actually helps a lot, always noticed the felpro exhaust gaskets were much thinner than the usual. And for some reason every car I pull the headers off of seems to like to have all the studs come out rather than the nuts. Im gonna pick up some decently thick washers later and start with that aproach.

[johnegg]

Im gonna pick up some decently thick washers later and start with that aproach.

if you pull more than one engine,

and you know of the potential problem,

it is not expensive to have 4 or 6 new studs and nuts on hand just in case.

i assume someone has new studs that are cheaper than the dealer.