Going LE2, Lloyd recomends Mr Gasket Head gaskets, but i am going to need the rest of the gaskets to finish the job, who sells a good gasket kit? What gaskets are you guys using on the intake, and headers.

 

I've had bad luck with The Felpro intake gaskets (ones with the blue sealant ring ) and really liked the GM intake gaskets gaskets. I used Felpro head gaskets and have had no problems with them at all. As far as headers go, I've tried the crushed aluminum ones and kept having leaks. Finally I went back to the stock Felpro ones and have been quiet ever since. That's just some of my experiences. Good luck.

 

Yea i was thinking stock GM would be the best, just want to hear what otheres think, thanks for your input!

 

I like the Fel-Pro #1406 header gaskets......and the GM "or" Fel-pro intake gaskets are both good........As far as the headgaskets, The Mr Gasket 26thou compressed thickness head gaskets are "alright" as long as you find a pair that isn't damaged by the shrink wrap packaging that Mr Gasket packages them in....many times just removing them causes major chunks of the gasket surface to be ripped off....Mr Gasket was supposed to address this common problem, but I heard that they still havent so Im not sure what the deal is.....also, some guys have some luck freezing them for a little while and then removing the shrinkwrap, but this did nothing for the set I had which was badly damaged during removal.....In the End, I ended up going with the (In my opinion) much higher quality GM 29thou compressed thickness Impala gaskets..........also, If you want as much power as possible, don't forget to take whatever header and intake gaskets you get and match them exactly to your heads intake and exhaust ports......and very importantly: after you have your header gaskets matched "exactly" to your heads exhaust ports, lay them over your header flange (in their correct orientation) and match your headers exactly so that there are NO obstructions in flow.......When Lloyd raises your exhaust ports in your heads...Depending on header type and brand, it may cause a bad mismatch with the exhaust flow hitting the header flange like a wall on the upper portion of your headers..........good luck with it..........Joe

 

Now you got me rethinking those Mr Gasket headgaskets, hey thanks for the advise on gasket matching, what tool should i use, a Dremel?

 

He told you to get those head gaskets because of the thickness, not the brand name. I use felpro everything, but would use a different thickness head gasket if it were required for compression.

 

Victor Rienz 5898 shares the same specs as the Mr. Gasket but are loosly individually packaged so zero coating issues. I paid $22 apiece at NAPA the Mr. Gaskets were $35 a pair at Summit till recently when they went too $70 a pair presumably to cover the losses incurred replacing all the ones damaged by the packaging.

On the intake gaskets I prefer the Victo Rienz over the Felpro too about $20 for just the gaskets as opposed too $20 for a "intake kit" from Felpro. Never had a problem with either. I have seen on a friend's motor though how the Victors with their embossed ridge will seal badly missaligned intake to head mating surfaces. You could see the difference in crush on the gasket but it sealed perfectly.

Headers I like Earl's Pressure Master almost no retightening and no leaks sofar with 12-1500 miles on them, but header leaks tend to show up fast so I think I am set.

 

I was looking last night on the net to see if i could find a Victor Reinz kit with all the gaskets, but i couldnt find anything. You think thats something i could buy at a local auto parts store?

 

bump

 

I never asked about a "kit". To get the head gasket I am recommending pretend you have an Impala as the thin gaskets are all speced for the iron heads.
Napa handles the Victor gaskets beyond that I am not sure who else does.

 

If you don't have any carbide grinding bits(like an Egg or Tree style) and somethig like a makita GEO600 hand held porting grinder, then a dremel with a few grinding stones will do just fine...it just takes a bit longer on the steel header flange grinding.........as far as what someone mentioned about gasket thickness being the reason the MR gasket head gaskets were recomended.....the compression difference between a 26thou compressed gasket and a 29thou compressed gasket is nearly nothing......at that point gasket quality matters more In my opinion, and from my experience and observations, the Impala gaskets seem to hold up MUCH better (especially on spray)......I believe since the Impala gaskets were made for the cast iron heads, they have a harder fire ring in the gasket than the MR gaskets......(Just my observations).....good luck with it all.......joe

 

Thanks guys, good info! I appreciate it.

 

Is there a problem putting the Impala gaskets on an aluminum headed car?

 

No, but I do believe that since they are thinner they will cause your compression ratio to change a little.

 

I'm running .027 4.01 bore cometics, the fel-pro 1284 performance intake gaskets, not the cheap ones in the kit, and percys header gaskets.