well i blew my 2nd set of header gaskets in 2 months.... first time one went out on the drivers side and now the passenger side blew... replaced with 2 new ones both times.. well i have been running rich for some months now could that be causing my header gaskets to be blowing on me so frequently???

 

are you keeping the header bolts tight? when i put headers on my car i just spent the extra money on the stage 8 header bolts because i didnt want to have to fight the car to keep the bolts tight.

 

You are running rich, because the gaskets are leaking. Air is being sucked in, and the O2's read it, thinking the car is running lean, they tell the PCM to add more gas.
After cleaning up the header flanges, check for flatness with a straight edge. Look also for bad welds that would prevent the flange from sealing tightly against the cylinder head. Use a quality gasket like Fel Pro also, #1406 I think.

 

torque them down HARD. and I mean HARD.

also, check them every day for the first 2 weeks. Never leak again.

 

what happened when they blew? I think I blew a head gasket.

 

Only header gasket's I've been able to keep together are earl's pressure master header seals. Its a silicone carbon insert in a solid aluminum frame. Expensive at around $40 a set, but they work.

I've torched several sets of 1406 felpros, leaky coppers, dead soft aluminums, stock, mr. gasket, with no luck.

 

I kept on having the same problem. Have the heads check for warped/flatness, also get ride of the stock head bolts they stretch. Get a set ARP bolts and torque them correctly.

 

somehow I've been lucky with mine. I used the cheap gaskets AND bolts that pacesetter gave me due to an unexpected $$$ crunch. I put a little Ultra-copper on the gaskets, retorqued the bolts a few times, and its been 3 months with zero leaks.

On that note, make sure your gasket surface on the head is nice and clean, and that the flange on your headers is not warped.

 

i have never had to put new ones on, i just re-used the stock ones. i did blow out a header gasket on a non-gm v-8 application, and all i can say is if you arent going to use OE metal replacement, use a copper or similar aftermarket type. non metal based header gaskets are trash. also a good set of hex head w/allen recessed slot are perfect for these cars because it allows you to really torque down on the flange. i got a set made by mr. gasket (i think) from advance.

 

well i know for a fact it was running rich BEFORE i blew the header gasket.... car used to have overheating problems but that was fixed recently...... i was told to try the copper gaskets but i've heard mixed reviews from them........ so i have no idea on which ones to use plus this is my daily driver and i have no other means of transportation... i heard that i could mess up the valves if i drive like this for too long.....

 

Try using breslin bolts and felpro gaskets. Breslin bolts rock, I haven't seen a car leak that had them. They can't really back out, unlike those stage 8s which do backout.

Use the search for more info on them.