This is an EFI flange on an un-ported EFI head.

 

If you don't want a leak, use a damn gasket. Using no gasket on machine surface is just fine if everything is right, but gaskets make up for imperfections in mating surfaces.

Nothing ever leaks "because of a gasket being used"....a *****ty gasket; absolutely. Improper torque; sure.

 

Here is a good pic of how the stock manifold fits to the head so I guess there isn't anything wrong with the Banks flanges. My mistake. Carry on good Sir!

 

Just run the copper gasket and see what it does. If it still leaks with that, then you have another problem

 

Thanks for all of the photos, they really help. I have been looking at rebuilt heads on the internet trying to see what shape the ports are on the head. Both SCE and Remflex state that it is the shape of header/manifold port that you match the gasket to, not the head. Clearly, the SCE gasket is a manifold gasket as it seems to match the shape of the manifold more than the shape of the header. However, the Remflex gasket more closely matches the shape of the Banks header so that's the one I think I will go with first. You can see below that the flat spot is at the top and the curved part is at the bottom, just like the Banks header. I ordered the Remflex last week and they should be here on Monday. They are much thicker than the Felpro or the SCE gasket and should hopefully seal the leak. If it blows out, I'll try the SCE gasket. Once I remove the header, I'll be able to thoroughly inspect the exhaust ports on the head for signs of leaks where the hole appeared on the #3 port.

 

As I was taking the header off yesterday, I noticed some black soot on the #4 cylinder and as soon as I put a wrench on the first header bolt on that cylinder, it spun freely. Same for the other bolt. So, I decided that before I took the header off I would tighten these bolts up and see if it helped.

Problem solved! The ticking is gone. There is still a tiny bit of "swooshing" under load so I might need to put a gasket on it at some point in the near future but I am content to let it be. I can hear some exhaust leaking went getting into the throttle but I have to strain to hear it. Without a gasket, I am sure it is not a perfect fit. One thing is for sure, I will be putting the gasket on myself. The good news is that the exhaust flange ear is not leaking. There is nothing coming out around #3. I checked it with a stethoscope and it doesn't sound any different than the other ports. At some point, it will likely need replacing and I'll do both heads at the same time. I'd like to get Scott to do the porting work for me and really open things up a bit.

After taking it to 2 shops, even one who said they tightened up all the bolts, I find out that no one did what they said they did. I should have checked the torque on all of those bolts myself rather than trusting that they did it for me. I knew better than that but because I believed everything was tight, I started looking elsewhere. I could have saved myself a lot of searching had I checked what they said they did.

Thanks for everyone's help on this!

 

This is why it's best to mod your own vehicle, or repair for that matter.

 

And there ya have it. A loose bolt

 

Probably backed out after a few heat cycles. The shop that did mine told me they cycle the truck at least 4 times to make sure it doesn't leak before giving it back to the customer. Either way glad you got it fixed Lance