Just like the headline said I cooked and blew out the header gasket. The nuts on the header seemed to be loose I think this is what was the direct cause of the blow out. Up side now that the header is off and I have some time before the new gasket arrives I can fab a heat shield and keep the LIM from getting heat soaked. [IMG]

 

Make sure the studs are properly installed.

 

Out of curiosity, is that a gasket for an aftermarket header?

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It looks like you used the supplied engine-to-header gasket from OBX which I strongly do not recommend. My header came with gaskets using the same material. Those gaskets won't be able to withstand the temperature of the engine/exhaust which is why it blew in the first place.

When I installed my header, I re-used the stock engine-to-header gasket from the stock manifold. I'm hoping you purchased an OEM one as a replacement so you don't encounter the same issue again. I found this out is because I used one of the supplied triangle gaskets that go between the header flange and my mid-pipe instead of the stock donut one, and ended up crumbling just like yours. In other words... Ditch those and replace them with factory ones.

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Get an actual OE gasket, that one is crap.

 

Yeah stupid mistake I'm getting a OEM one. At the time I was unaware of the temps of our exhaust. It did last a 1 1/2 years on there though but it definitely cooked.