Trimming a gasket

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DartDave73

DartDave73

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Has anyone ever trimmed off the excess intake gasket sticking out around the manifold where it meets the head? I want to make sure I'm not causing any sealing problems doing this Or is it better just to leave it be?

I don't want to cause any issues with sealing and am unsure if I do that if it'll cause any problems with sealing in the future.
 
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I assume just doing it for looks? If so, anything sticking out doesn't seal anything, so, trim away.
 
cudamark said:
I assume just doing it for looks? If so, anything sticking out doesn't seal anything, so, trim away.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for looks and rust protection. Part of the head above the intake isn't painted so I want to get it covered. Painting the intake at the same time so it'll look neat and uniform.

It sucks being really picky about things. I drive myself crazy.
 
DartDave73 said:
Yeah, for looks and rust protection. Part of the head above the intake isn't painted so I want to get it covered. Painting the intake at the same time so it'll look neat and uniform.

It sucks being really picky about things. I drive myself crazy.
Click to expand...

I laid the intake on with gaskets in place and used a sharpie to mark the gasket.
A good pair of shop scissors and a moto tool with a sanding drum to finalize and clean up the edges.
No problems.
 
I got the gasket in place, but I'm not too happy with it. I mean I guess it's right, but that thin line of gasket material between the ports bugs me. It's so tight. I put some copper spray to give it some tack to hold it centered but it's so thin. I did check inside with a camera and it's on the edge but not blown out.

Is this something to worry about? I did get a gasket for the 273 heads and it fits on the intake side just as tight but it's there. Ugh.
 
TrailBeast said:
I laid the intake on with gaskets in place and used a sharpie to mark the gasket.
A good pair of shop scissors and a moto tool with a sanding drum to finalize and clean up the edges.
No problems.
Click to expand...

I thought about doing that... marking it and then pre-trimming, but I got impatient and put them on. Figuring I could use a new razor blade and trim it down. Though I think I'm going to go with a different brand of gaskets next time. Not too thrilled with Felpro lately. They used to be good. I think they're getting sloppy. Maybe Cometic next time.
 
I was thinking of doing same thing once my build is complete. @MOPAROFFICIAL posted in my thread about Felpro intake gasket I bought (cant remember #1243 or 1213).
He spotted that the printoseal was offset quite a bit in pics I posted, good catch! So I ordered another set and they were fine, but QC at Felpro may be lacking??
Got pics of the gasket "issues"?
DartDave73 said:
I thought about doing that... marking it and then pre-trimming, but I got impatient and put them on. Figuring I could use a new razor blade and trim it down. Though I think I'm going to go with a different brand of gaskets next time. Not too thrilled with Felpro lately. They used to be good. I think they're getting sloppy. Maybe Cometic next time.
Click to expand...
 
4spdragtop said:
I was thinking of doing same thing once my build is complete. @MOPAROFFICIAL posted in my thread about Felpro intake gasket I bought (cant remember #1243 or 1213).
He spotted that the printoseal was offset quite a bit in pics I posted, good catch! So I ordered another set and they were fine, but QC at Felpro may be lacking??
Got pics of the gasket "issues"?
Click to expand...

I don't have any pics. They're installed and torqued down. They were 1243 gaskets. It was just between the ports that was very close. Using copper spray I think was a good decision. It held it right to the edge. When I ran the camera in the intake, I can just barely see the gasket over the edge. Talking like maybe a 1/32, which means I'm still good. I should have like 1/8 of an inch of the gasket sandwiched in. Once that copper spray dries it'll keep it from moving. Especially after being sandwiched down and torqued.

They were the ones that Felpro recommended for 273 heads (66-69). These heads are cast in 67. *shrug* I guess I'll find out if they fail, but I think I got them to work. Worst case, they fail and I'll have to pull the intake. Which I dread because I like to use Right Stuff gasket sealant. That stuff is hard to clean up, but man it works like nothing else.
 
Here it is after trimming. Came out well.

IMG_20231022_180732325.jpg
 
And the finished product.

I use Ford Blue. It's much better of a color than that corporate blue Chrysler used. Hate me if you want, but I like it.

IMG_20231022_194605211.jpg
 
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