# Exhaust Gasket Help



## Cmeyer9424 (May 5, 2020)

Hi I have a 69 gto with the 400 in it. It has aluminum edelbrock heads and hooker heads. I need to find some exhaust gaskets and have already tired Mr.Gasket 5921 and they weren’t even close to fitting. Thanks for any help!


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

If your Edelbrock heads have the exhaust ports based on the Ram Air 4 configuration, you would need Mr Gasket p/n 7523. The 5921s are for D port heads. On the RA4 style heads, the center two exhaust ports are spaced farther apart.


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## Cmeyer9424 (May 5, 2020)

I’m not sure which style it is. When I had the header detached the ports looked to be circular. Here’s a picture of the heads and headers. Not sure if this will help


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

Those heads appear to be the Edelbrocks with the Ram Air IV style exhaust ports. You need the gasket I mentioned above, or a competitor's equivalent. RA4 heads have large round exhaust ports.


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## Cmeyer9424 (May 5, 2020)

coyote595 said:


> Those heads appear to be the Edelbrocks with the Ram Air IV style exhaust ports. You need the gasket I mentioned above, or a competitor's equivalent. RA4 heads have large round exhaust ports.


Thanks! I’m ordering some now


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

Hope you have better luck than I did getting those Hooker headers to seal. I had Hooker Super Competition headers mated up to Pontiac RA4 heads and the Hooker header flanges were not machined well at all. They leaked right off the bat. I had to stack two gaskets per side and tighten the piss out of them. They would last a lot longer that way, but would still eventually fail. That was back in 1983, so hopefully Hookers quality has gotten better since then. Let us know how it works out.


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

Here you can see the difference between the RA4 round port heads and the much more common Pontiac D port head.


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## Cmeyer9424 (May 5, 2020)

That’s does sound like a pain! I had the hardest time getting the old gasket off. It was like some kind of paper composite. At least I’ll know that if they leak to just stack another on top. The middle bolt on the driver side towards the back is insane in how it basically backs out into the exhaust tube. 
Do they make something that gets the gasket off easier? And do you think it’s fine to leave the header just hanging while I wait for the new gasket? I don’t know if it being exposed to the air if moisture would get in there.


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

Yeah that one bolt is a real pain. I had to "customize" an open end wrench just so I could get in there better to tighten it. It is a really tight area to get in there and clean up the gasket surfaces. Also, since the Edelbrock heads are soft aluminum, you have to be careful not to gouge up the gasket surface when cleaning. If it was an iron head, you could scrape it with a utility knife blade to clean it up. They do make gasket softening spray. I have never used it. You should be fine leaving it hanging apart unless the car is outside and a hurricane rolls in.


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## Cmeyer9424 (May 5, 2020)

Yeah I was about 2 seconds away from grinding on my wrench and the bolt went in. It would be nice if the gasket came with a slot for that bolt as well like it has for the two end ones. Could you just notch it? If the gasket still seals around the exhaust port I would like to think it would still seal correctly


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## coyote595 (Dec 4, 2019)

I would think you could notch it as long as you do not compromise the sealing surface.


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