[the tree man]

I pulled my tunnel ram to inspect valve train parts and the 1205's are pulling apart/moving on the divider between the ports. Intake manifold face is straight and bolts were tight. I haven't removed the intake for about 5-6 years,it was way overdue,but I've had this symptom before on this motor. Not as severe though because the intake had been off on a regular basis with fresh gaskets. I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced this and if anybody has used the steel laminated version of the 1205? I really like the service friendly Fel-Pro's that peel off extra clean so I'd like stick with them and stay away from gluing. There was another pair of ports that the gasket was deteriorated a bit worse than in this pic. At least it wasn't failing into the lifter valley.

 

[Project'68]

My intake to heads fitment was not great on my engine, but the normal 1205 didnt work well for me. I really didnt like the paper material the 1205 is made from. I ended up with the S3 version and it went together well with that. So far, no leaks. I never assume that I will get the gasket back, though, especially on an SBC where you need the sealant in place for the install.

 

[mullis65]

I would put a strait edge across your intake flanges jus for shits and giggles. Jus sayin rule out any warpage?

 

[the tree man]

As I stated in my original post,I straight edged the intake face,was bang on. After a bunch of reading,the gaskets without the steel laminating are designed for applications where the intake is going to be removed regularly. It allows the gasket to be trimmed easily to fit ported heads/intake without having to deal with the steel core. The laminated style is for longer life and designed specifically to solve the issue of distorting/splitting. I've always used the non-laminated gaskets but I don't think I've ever had a motor for more than a few years that the intake wasn't removed/upgraded. I wasn't even aware Fel-Pro made these laminated gaskets until I started researching this gasket deterioration situation. I recently saw this same squishing/splitting of a Fel-Pro Printoseal non-laminated intake gasket on an unChevy used engine I bought as a core to build a BB stroker. I never really thought about it much. Assumed it was an install problem. Unfortunately,I used the regular gaskets on that stroker build but will definitely be pulling the intake to install a laminated set. Been hot rodding for 45 years and still learning,too bad it's always the hard way.

 

[bracketchev70]

On big port heads I glue the gasket