Bad seal at Exhaust Manifold gasket

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skipfletcher
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:51 am
Location: Kansas City

Bad seal at Exhaust Manifold gasket

Postby skipfletcher » Mon Aug 24, 2015 6:53 am

After doing a head gasket replacement, I cannot get my exhaust manifold gaskets to seal properly, causing P0134 and p0154 oxygen sensor codes.

I have replaced the driver's side gasket FOUR times, and it sounds good at first, but after the engine warms up, I can hear a gas leak. I've used Fel-Pro perforated style gaskets as well as multi-layer aluminum gaskets.

This weekend I went as far as replacing the entire exhaust manifold on the driver's side, new gasket, bolts torqued to spec, and got the biggest leak yet. So after the engine was warm I re-torqued, which made an improvement but not a perfect seal. And in fact, I felt one of the bolts start to strip, probably from inside the cylinder head.

I'm running out of ideas. Is my last option to use bigger bolts and re-tap the holes? Is there any way to ensure a better seal with the gaskets?


moymurfs
Posts: 139
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:59 pm

Postby moymurfs » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:14 am

Is the leak coming from the area of the loose / stripping bolt?

skipfletcher
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:51 am
Location: Kansas City

Postby skipfletcher » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:18 am

Hard to tell visually where the exact leak is. When I had the bolts torqued to spec, it seemed to be leaking from ALL over the gasket.

skipfletcher
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:51 am
Location: Kansas City

Postby skipfletcher » Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:54 am

Anyone use Permatex Ultra Copper on their exhaust manifold gaskets?


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