How to Install an Exhaust Manifold Gasket
After the air/fuel mixture within a vehicle’s engine ignites, the remaining gases are pushed out of the engine and into an exhaust manifold. The purpose of the manifold is to combine these gases and direct them to an exhaust pipe. Between the engine block and the manifold is a gasket designed to prevent the gases from leaking out of the engine before reaching the manifold. Because of the extreme temperatures this gasket is exposed to, exhaust manifold gaskets require replacement when a leak is discovered.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Allow the engine to cool completely to avoid burns from a hot exhaust manifold.
-
2
Unfasten and remove each of the exhaust manifold’s retaining bolts with an open-end wrench, then pull the manifold off the cylinder head to expose the gasket.
-
-
3
Pull the exhaust manifold gasket off either the manifold or the cylinder head, depending on which surface the gasket adhered to.
-
4
Coat the threaded portion of each of the exhaust manifold’s bolts with anti-seize compound.
-
5
Position the manifold against the cylinder head, then thread only the bolt on each side of the manifold into the cylinder head. In other words, thread the bolt on the far left side of the manifold and the bolt on the far right side of the manifold. Do not thread the bolts all the way into the cylinder head.
-
6
Position the replacement manifold gasket above the manifold, between the manifold and the cylinder head, then lower the gasket onto the two bolts threaded into the cylinder head in Step 5. These two bolts will ensure that the gasket remains properly positioned when the manifold’s bolts are tightened.
-
7
Tighten each of the exhaust manifold’s remaining retaining bolts in small increments with the open-end wrench until all of the bolts are tight. Tightening the bolts in small increments will ensure that the gasket does not distort and cause a leak.
-
1
References
- “Popular Mechanics: Complete Car Care Manual”; Popular Mechanics; 2005
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
