Exhaust Gaskets: To OEM or not to OEM?

F

FXtion

Member
Location
sherman oaks, ca
It turns out the the DC headers I bought used did not come with gaskets. Is it better to use the OEM gaskets ($30 peace) or get the Ebay ones for $14 a set. I noticed that the OEM is made out of Metal and others are not. Also, heard that performance exhaust leak after a while. Is that true. Which way to go, that is the question???
 
fothion said:
It turns out the the DC headers I bought used did not come with gaskets. Is it better to use the OEM gaskets ($30 peace) or get the Ebay ones for $14 a set. I noticed that the OEM is made out of Metal and others are not. Also, heard that performance exhaust leak after a while. Is that true. Which way to go, that is the question???
Click to expand...


from what I read and from my muffler guy, the OEM ones are much better. and for $30 you really can't go wrong. Do it right the first time, especially the header since its not to easy to swap the gaskets out later.:nerd:

:2smile:
 
well, personally I decided to use the fel pro gaskets available for these, as the fel pro gasket is metal, but it has a thermal compound sandwiched inbetween the metal, so it is better to seal a less than perfect surface than even the oe gasket... the oe gasket is good with a perfect flange like the oe manifolds, but with headers theres always the chance of it being slightly less than a perfect mate, so the fel pro's I think are better for this...
 
fothion said:
It turns out the the DC headers I bought used did not come with gaskets. Is it better to use the OEM gaskets ($30 peace) or get the Ebay ones for $14 a set. I noticed that the OEM is made out of Metal and others are not. Also, heard that performance exhaust leak after a while. Is that true. Which way to go, that is the question???
Click to expand...

Corrugated cardboard would work better than the gaskets listed on eBay, IMO... :tongue:
 
turbocad6 said:
well, personally I decided to use the fel pro gaskets available for these, as the fel pro gasket is metal, but it has a thermal compound sandwiched inbetween the metal, so it is better to seal a less than perfect surface than even the oe gasket... the oe gasket is good with a perfect flange like the oe manifolds, but with headers theres always the chance of it being slightly less than a perfect mate, so the fel pro's I think are better for this...
Click to expand...

I used to work for autoparts warehouse and FEL PRO brand is very close to OE.
 
i used the ones that came with my y pipe when i bought it and they were garbage. pipes were a little off center and it burned through the gasket in about a week. bought OEM one to redo everything and was blown away by how much better the quality was. replaced the shitty ones with OE about 3 months ago now and haven't had any issues. i'd say go OE
 
can the oem gaskets be reused?

---------- Post added at 06:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:06 PM ----------

Found Fel-Pro gaskets online and my local parts store (Advanced Auto Parts) matched their price. $20.84 plus tax for the two manifold gaskets and the two pipe gaskets.
Now I have to wait 3-4 days
I did notice a 1year warranty on defects for the gaskets. Don't think they will leak but if they do i guess you get replacements.
 
Finally installed using the Fel-Pro brand that turbocad6 mentioned.
They are several times thicker than oem and just by the looks of them they seem like they would seal WAY better than oem. No leaks so far
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top