Exhaust gasket replacement in a pinch.

Here's my predicament, I had to remove my header for an oil change today. Of course my exhaust gaskets are buggered. I tried to stick it back together, but sadly, one of four is leaking at the head. It's supposed to be a really nice day tomorrow and I want to ride. I'm looking for ideas to use as a temporary replacement gasket since I won't likely find a proper gasket on a Sunday. Assess.

Take it out and anneal it, supposedly that works to help them reseal. You might also try loosening all the header bolts a bit and retightening them, maybe it just didnt seat well for some reason.

Good luck getting it fixed in time to enjoy a nice Sunday!

anealing only works on solid pieces of material like copper head washers and banjo bolt washers,if youre using the folded over/crimped style gaskets i dont think it will help much.
when i buy exhust gaskets i always get extras,and i always replace them when removing a header

If annealing fails to fully seal, could add a second old gasket (if available), and regardless of whether using one old gasket or two old gaskets, could also slather in some Permatex hi-temp copper sealant.



Good Fortune!

oh patton,youre killing me! :laugh:

you spent a year to build it,one more day to fix it right aint gonna kill ya

Wireman is right, these are the folded gaskets and they definitely took a set the first time they were installed. I just learned my lesson, and I'm going to order a dozen on Monday. Will that high temp RTV hold up to the temps experienced right at the head. Those pipes are regularly 500*F at idle, I can't imagine how hot they get when you really pour the coal to her. I guess it's my weekend to fight with exhaust. I just got done fixing the exhaust on the Maxima. The stupid weld that held the muffler to the flange decided to break loose.

I usually cherry pop (aneal) my exhaust gaskets at least once and sometimes up to 3 times before going with a new one. The copper ones that has a seam on one side. I do always keep a set of new ones on hand in case it does not work. But it almost always works at least once. Cherry it up and then quench it and you should see it swell back up.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I had a plan all along, and I'm here to report that it worked perfect. I just wanted to see if anyone had a revolutionary idea. Here's what I did. I bought a roll of aluminum foil tape at Lowe's and I stuck about 10 layers together. Then I cut it into a donut shape just like a stock exhaust gasket. The best part is that the tape is self-adhesive so no axle grease to keep it in place while you mount the header. In any case, my leak was solved and I got to ride today. This was a most glorious day for a ride. Good times were had by all.

why dont you just machine a bunch of copper gaskets at work tomorrow?

Try saving your old gaskets and then doubling them up when they are used. Done this many times and never had a leak yet. You really never completly flatten then, unless your going way to tight on them anyway.

Hey while you guys are talking about gaskets I picked up some new ones from Z1 and I can't get those buggers to stay in the wells as they are a little bigger / heavier than the older ones. How can I get them to stay in place long enough for me to get the pipes back on? Is it okay to use some sort of adhesive?