I've been waiting for these to get back into stock. I'm going to try a set with a set of Fel-pro steel gaskets and see how they work.
I know Ford never used gaskets but Fel-Pro has a set of gaskets made for ambulance and other service vehicles that run all day and generate lots of heat under the hood/dog house. hopefully they'll work.
The only real cure for the cracked manifold/bad gasket problem is to get more air under the hood and lower the tempature around the maniflolds.

 

I had mine redone in 1996 when I bought Clyde with 38,000 miles original. At that mileage the passenger side was HORRIBLE! After 13 years and almost 40,000 miles, mostly working fairly hard towing a fifth wheel, I've got a passenger side leak that goes away when the engine warms up. It bothers me a little but I'm going to run it until it bothers me a LOT.

I think it's lasted this long because I make a point of idling down the engine before I shut it off ... a cool down period if you want to call it that ... that lets the engine/manifold change temperatures gradually. The harder I've been working the truck the longer I let it idle before I shut it down. Got into that habit with turbo'd stuff where you want the turbo to cool so you don't literally fry the bearings shutting down hot. I think I the reason it leaks now is because I had some fuel tank switching vapor lock problems that shut me down hot on a couple occassions.

I can't prove that this is the path to reduced problems, but from my experience over many years ......

 

Ford DID use a gasket but it is just something to blow out or shrink making your bolts loose. I've always made sure the manifold was flat - have it faced if it is not or if it is pitted. A gasket will not seal a pitted or warped manifold. It's a weak spot that will just blow out. Metal to metal is the way to go on any Ford. If it is flat you will not have another problem.


Danny