Exhaust Manifold Gasket Orientation

[LIBRILZ]

Well I had an exhaust manifold gasket leak from my passenger side manifold, come to find out the bolts holding the manifold on were loose..The Previous owner said the manifolds had been replaced and from the looks of it, they are a different brand than OEM, but anwho, I can't help but think maybe I got the orientation of the gasket wrong? The leak isn't nearly as pronounced as before, but I do still hear some weird hissing under moderate acceleration, as though it does leak, which in all honestly could just be the way it sounds due to the aftermarket exhaust manifold..

this isn't the brand of gasket I bought, but it is identical for purposes of showing what the gasket looks like..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DNJ-Exhaust-Ma ... K4&vxp=mtr

I know I installed the gasket with the triangle part in the middle pointing UP, but the gasket itself has a lip to it, and now I can't remember which side I put the lip towards, the heads of the engine, or towards the manifold itself

[EdBwoy]

I don't think the lip is aggressive enough to matter. The holes on both head and header are the same size, plus the mating of the components crushes the gasket and renders any stampimg features insignificant. To the best of my memory, every manifold gasket I have removed has been flat.

What about the manifolds you have makes you think they're aftermarket?
Depending on how non-OEM components are put together, there might be some warping on the flange that couldn't be corrected by torque. Are the mani bolts/studs in the correct order shown in the manual?

[LIBRILZ]

Well the guy I bought the car from said they had been replaced, plus they say made in the USA on them, I know normally it would say something like Calsonic-Kansei or something of that nature

yeah I figured it wouldn't too much matter, if it does leak still, it's only a sound thing, I can't smell exhaust gases making their way into the interior anymore

[EdBwoy]

Gotcha. Yes, if they have anything written on them they're not OEM.
Hoping it's not too serious, good luck.

Btw, when you did the exhaust gasket work, did you have access to a lift?

[LIBRILZ]

Nope, I just ran the car up on ramps, jacked it up higher and put it on jackstands in the front and unbolted everything, took maybe an hour, it wasn't hard by any means, everything is pretty easy to get to honestly

I doubt its serious, it has been doing it for 7K, and ever since I got the car, the gasket repair I did made it 50% better though, it's just under moderate load and acceleration it makes a repeating hissing sound still, think of when kids used to put cans or cars on their bicycles to make that fluttering noise, it sounds kinda like that lol

one of my friends said it could be that the metal of the replacement manifolds is thinner and they are the ones making the noise..that kinda sucks

[EdBwoy]

Thanks, I'm always curious how fellow DIYers get the job done. I've achieved some great things with a set of scissor jacks and jackstands. I can't wait for when I get a garage with a lift.