Ok, i just replaced the passenger side header gasket. i replaced the felpro 1406 with a mr. gasket #5901. It still leaks, but now it is hardly noticable in the low rpms and low throttle acceleration seems stronger. The ticking noises are also quiter than before.

I tightened all the bolts down. i took it for a drive after i put in the new gasket, and kept it under 3K. I drove it for about 20-30 minutes to let it fully warm up and go through the heat cycle and then parked it. I plan to tighten the bolts again tomorrow morning.

What else can i do? Is there any type of sealant i can spray around the gasket? I cant really afford to spend any more money on gaskets, i looked at the metal ones and they are really expensive. If there is nothing else i can do is the leak minor enough to not hurt anything?

 

it may not be the gasket things to check

1.injector tick
2.rocker arms

if those arent them you may need to surface the header flange,check machine shops for this,or go to a alumin dead soft gasket

 

thanks for the reply. I am pretty sure it isn't a rocker because when i take the oil fill tube out it the ticking doesn't get any louder or change tone.

i never even thought about the noise being a fuel injector though. if it is, does the ticking mean the injector is shot? what are the other symptoms of a bad injector? are these expensive/difficult to replace/fix?

I am almost positive it is an exhaust leak though, as it got quiter and changed tone after i replaced the gasket. It also didn't tick before i put the headers in. What about the sealant spray? Is there anything like that that could help? Maybe i'll look into the aluminum gaskets if there is nothing else i can do.

 

I have your same headers. 1406's won't work for me either. I ended up with percy's dead soft alum... I suggest ordering some I think they are 35 bucks but it's the last gasket you will ever need - believe me. It seals perfectly and IMO it is even better than the copper ones because the raised sealing ring on them sometimes doesn't line up with the exhaust ports.

I HAD a leak on both sides for months and nothing I did fixed it. I went through a few 1406's with ultra copper etc. but the only thing that fixed it was these new gaskets and ARP 1" bolts.

VERY IMPORTANT - Clean the mating surfaces, especially where it was leaking before. If you have to take the header off do it but I was able to use a wire brush (very stiff bristles) to clean all the marring off the head and header with the header still attached to the ypipe (but the not heads)

 

well i just came back from the another drive after tightening the bolts a second time. The ticking is gone in the low rpms. It only occurs with heavy acceleration and the noise is barely noticeable. I think im only going to mess with it now if it gets worse. And knowing this car, odds are it will.

96 WS6- thanks for the advice. I wish i would have known about cleaning it with the brush before i put it back together! Seems like common sense now that im done with it. hehehe, oh well i did wipe it off the mating surfaces with a rag if that helped any. If the leak gets worse i'll go with the percy's aluminum gasket. The funny thing is the driver's side is still on the original felpro gasket and never had any leaks.