Tick, Tock...you know the drill with headers. I bought the truck with them already on it. Has anyone had luck with the copper ones? What brands are decent. I loved felpro's 1415 for SBF, but they don't make the high performance style for the 352.

 

Get the reusable ones. They look like they are aluminum, about 1/4" thick. I use them on my hot rods and never have a problem. You can retighten them and take the header off and they stay the same shape. I know summit sells them. I can't think of the name.

 

Also acquired an exhaust leak, been doing little research and appears couple schools of thought; surface header flange and use RTV with no gasket, or the combination of standard gasket and RTV sealant; and finally a copper, or aluminum frame gasket. Installed headers 3yrs. ago and used FelPro gasket with RTV. Looking at the copper and just enough RTV sealant to hold gasket in place, possibly Summit, or SCE, have not decided yet. I used allen head bolts, big mistake, of opinion contribute to exhaust leak. Posting link on an article came across in a BowTie magazine, may find info interesting.

The biggest challenge to sealing headers and collectors is keeping the gasket tight against the head. The most common problem with blown header gaskets isn’t the gasket itself, but the fact that the bolt loses its torque. While it may seem that the bolt loosens because of some occult combination of heat cycling and vibration, the truth is that the gasket compresses and this reduction in thickness causes the bolt to become loose.

This is a common problem with the conventional compressed-fiber-material gaskets. After the gasket is tightened and subjected to several heat cycles, the material compresses. This reduces the distance between the header flange and the head, which creates the same effect as loosening the bolts. Once bolt torque is lost, exhaust-gas pressure can push past the gasket. In a relatively short time, the hot exhaust gas can burn the gasket, creating the exhaust leak. Several years ago, numerous companies began making high-performance gaskets that were less compressible. The most common design is the wire- reinforced graphite-compound gasket made famous by Fel-Pro. These gaskets compress less than fiber-style gaskets due to their internal wire reinforcement, but it’s still a good idea to recheck bolt torque at least once. The graphite coating also prevents sticking and allows the gasket to move when the header heats up and expands.



The latest generation of gaskets are the copper or aluminum-frame gaskets. The aluminum gaskets rely on an internal graphite seal to prevent leakage. These seals can be replaced if they leak or become damaged so you don’t have to buy the frame in addition to the seals. There are several copper gaskets with SCE as the originator of the embossed copper header gasket that is designed to create a leakproof seal when the header is tightened down. There is a slight amount of crush built into the embossed area, and the ridge creates an increased clamping load without requiring increased bolt torque. Copper also does not suffer from the movement problems that can plague other gaskets. Even with all these advantages, it’s still a good idea to retorque any gasket after one or two heat cycles to ensure a solid, long-lasting seal.

As you can see, there’s much more to header and collector gaskets than just pulling them out of the package and bolting them on. There are plenty of different styles and prices to choose from. But regardless of which you choose, a little maintenance is required to make these gaskets live longer.

 

I'll be installing headers with Mr. Gasket copper gaskets on my 67 F100 this summer. It has a 351W/C4. I've experienced the header flange bolt loosening phenominon before and I'm going to try these new type locking flange bolts. They're not supposed to back off after you get the final torque and lock them down, well see?
Tim

 

remflex are the names of the gaskest I used. I have used bout copper and thick paper type and the remflex to are the besr. No rtv required and you can retighten them and seal the leak..

 

With the headers on the 65F100 with 390, found there are few problem arears where the clearance between the pipe and bolt hole is very close where a flange bolt, or lock washer presented a problem. Went to the SS 'allen head' to solve the problem but found it difficult to tighten 2-3 bolts in the hard to get to areas. Understand the 'locking flange bolt' is relatively new, if the flange is minimal they may work for my application, will have to check them out.

 

You could also clean out the bolt holes real good with carb cleaner and use hitemp loctite to keep them tight and from backing out. A problem with stainless steel is when it gets really hot it can work harden and become brittle. A hardened steel bolt is the best.

 

Shorty,
I've always been leary of using hi-temp thread sealants on exhaust bolts. I asked myself, if after 2 or 3 years of use, can I get the exhaust bolts out. They can be a PITA just removing the old factory bolts. Have you got any experience with this situation? Loctite is a lot cheaper than these locking bolts! Like to hear from you or anyone else on this method?

Tim

 

Your right... the header bolts seem to loose torque because the gasket actually compresses. On my 302 with new gaskets, I checked the bolts after every drive until I could tell that they stayed tight... so far, no leaks!