Inlet manifold gaskets

[sujitroy]

My inlet manifold has to come off and I need to replace the manifold gaskets. I used a Payen set from a Payen head gasket set. I just saw the cost of a set of Payen inlet manifold gaskets alone at JP and they are 4 x the price of the other brand they carry. Ouch!. The other brand has the slot in it. I'll need two sets as the other cars manifold needs to come off at a later date. Please tell me the other brand they is good and is being used by other Stag owners. I plan to apply hymolar (sp) gasket goo to the faces. Just checked RobSport and their Payen gasket are somewhat cheaper, but always looking for a proven cheaper solution.
One problem I may face is since the heads and have been reinstalled, I may need to source similar thickness manifold gaskets. I'm now wondering if Payne made thin and thick at one time.

Thanks in advance Sujit

[JeffW]

Hi Sujit

I use gaskets from SOC Spares on the advice of Faversham Classics. Faversham only uses the slotted ones on pristine engines that have perfectly (or as near as) mated faces as the slots weaken the gaskets and lead to premature failure if the angles are off. Unfortunately they also get custom-made ones that are reinforced with metal that aren't available anywhere else!

You should follow the advice on here mentioned numerous times to sit the manifold in place with no gaskets and check all the mating surfaces with feeler gauges to see how big the gaps are, if any. If there are large gaps then you may need thicker ones, however you really need to do this first as it also depends on how many skims have been done, which naturally changes the angle and fit.

When my first gaskets went I ordered thick ones but there was no way of getting the holes to line up so I went with standard from SOC and all was fine, no leaks. It was a b*itch to get the manifold on and the holes lined up (watch the Rimmer's video on YouTube) but got there in the end.

Jeff

[sujitroy]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks. What angle changes? If the heads are skimmed the gap between manifold and heads narrows, but the angle, I'm assuming, is 90 degrees still remains 90 degrees. Am i missing something here?
I opened up the holes in the manifold slightly so it sits lower in the Vee. Something Tony Hart recommended.
Sujit

[flying farmer]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks. What angle changes? If the heads are skimmed the gap between manifold and heads narrows, but the angle, I'm assuming, is 90 degrees still remains 90 degrees. Am i missing something here?
I opened up the holes in the manifold slightly so it sits lower in the Vee. Something Tony Hart recommended.
Sujit

That is always assuming the head has been properly set up on skimming machine. Since the top and bottom surfaces are not parallel it must be mounted on something and the head face set to be level for the cutter. If it was a few degrees out you would never know until you came to fit the manifold

Neil

[sujitroy]

Got it thanks

[JeffW]

What Neil said (he's much smarter than me!)

Jeff