Gasket? We don't need no stinking gasket!

rocco79/138

True Classic
Have been enjoying my '79 X for almost 1000 relatively carefree miles and I have been trying to solve the exhaust leak... sounds a bit like a VW under power. Then it dawned on me! My dad installed a header... after a quick call "dad, did you replace the manifold gasket when you installed the header? (Long pause) "I think I did..." Not like I would grounded him if he had not and I knew the answer before I asked so if did not really matter. A better question would have been "did you observe proper stack up and put all the fasteners back on?... torqued??? No to all of it! As if a gasket could be had off the rack at Wally Mart! I provided him with a torque wrench so he only had his staunch disregard for shop manuals to lean on for not torquing properly. Everything is disassembled and, for the most part, cleaned. I have to clean up the stud threads and dig up some spreader washers and tomorrow it will go back together! Smart money would go with this being the fix for an array of pesky little problems and My X will run better than ever! One very troubling detail revealed with the manifolds off... a big bolt head right in the middle of the head with a stack of flat washers under it... should be a thick washer on a stud with a nut, like the other four... not going to address until I have to. Compression tested great and it does not smoke or make and strange noise so I am looking the other way on this one. I actually have only worked on one other X, besides my own, that did not have quite a few surprises... it was a '76 Green from Northern VA bought from a guy around Detroit had 1500/5speed and a fair amount of tweaking but all the fasteners were correct and it was easy in and out. Will post update when back up and running!
Regards
 
Sorry about the photos...

Everything went back together great... went to what I call "86 autoparts" (my '86 donor) for some extra parts. Cleaned everything and had to switch four studs around, the two outermost studs need to be threaded to near the head since the header is thinner than the OEM manifold. I also scrapped the gaskets off the phenolic spacer and installed new gaskets. Once everything was reinstalled and properly torqued my thoughts about this repair were confirmed! It is very quiet now, almost too quiet! I can actually hear engine noise, sounds great considering what this engine must have endured at the hands of people who should never pick up a wrench! Will head to the muffler shop with all my new bits to have the Borla exhaust put together and installed. It actually idles around 900rpm... fix all the vacuum leaks you want but if the carb is hovering over the manifold you won't be able to set the idle.



The engine looks awful but it actually runs great! I have been very pleased with the way if behaves. It kept losing timing belts because oil was coming out of main seal. While replacing the seal I found a rusty crankshaft seal face... lots of twisting to dress that face in place. Worth it though... once that was right the cam seal was still leaking. Same thing up there easier to dress though. Then I though my fuel pump blocking plate was leaking, turned out to be dipstick not fully inserted. Think my dad probably topped the car off with 0w20... once the fresh 10w40 got in there stopped the self oiling. All dry now but I am sure oil is still coming out of the rear main... not much though it is not dripping from the bell housing or seeing a drop in the level. Will address when clutch goes.
Hope everyone else is having success!
Regards,
 
Ya know... If you had properly machined the head...

intake and exhaust header flanges to a tolerance of +/- 0.00001 mm in the first place, you would not have needed a gasket set...

(hehehe)
 
Forget about the gasket!

My pop thought half the fasteners were not needed! Ha! It is running great and I went over 1000 miles on the tripometer which I reset when I put it back on the road. Went to the muffler shop today to make sure I did not need to source any more parts to fab the new exhaust. Looks like I have everything covered. Next week or so I will drop it off to have things fit/tacked/ finish welded. Looking forward to hearing something new again. I have done a glass pack but never a free flow turbo type will post some photos of the parts. Came from a bunch of different suppliers but I think it will make a good looking upgrade. Will keep you posted.
Hope you are staying cool Tony!
Regards
 
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