stock manifold exhaust doughnuts

[fordman]

i see that you can still buy the compostie type of these doughnuts and the all steel type. whats the big difference. i think the steel ones would last longer wouldnt they. does the compostie stuff do anything? other than break and blow out faster?

[kaptnkaos]

Hey Fordman...

Yeah, both styles are still available at nearly any parts house.
The steel ones last longer than the composit ones, but they don't seal as well.
The composit ones seal better, but don't last as long.
I put the composit ones on mine a couple of years ago, and haven't had any problems with them.
Something that helps a little bit is to cut a of exhaust pipe of the inside diameter of the seal, and just a little longer than the seal is thick.
The steel piece helps the seal line up better and you don't have to fight it as much do the install... the steel piece also helps the composite seals last longer.

KaptnKA S

[ToughOldFord]

I haven't seen the steel ones in a long time, I'll have to get me a couple.

Exhaust doughnuts are one of my few complaints about old Fords I always burn them out, sometimes in just a few hundred miles. My personal bad luck I guess, some never have problems with them. Mine are leaking fairly bad now, getting close to when I say enough is enough and stab some new ones in. I'll try to get the steel ones this time if I can find them locally.

[fordman]

the steel ones are felpro part number 60987 they are suppose to fit 65-91 trucks.

[ToughOldFord]

Cool, thanks Fordman I just ran that number at Autozone's website and it shows they stock them for $2.49 ea. Which is the exact price of the composite ones. They're on my list now and I'll get them soon.

[fordman]

my autozone only had two total. one steel and one compostie. i boguth both of them the composite ones are made by www.rolmfg.com i think they may be a steel gasket. but coated with the composite type material. i havent messed with it too much yet.

[cdeal28078]

If they are burning out that fast then something is not right with the alignment of the exhaust to the manifold. The composite ones should last many years if they are set up right. When I pulled my stock set up years ago it also had the smaller pipe on the inside of the doughnut. Maybe that is the big difference.
When I pulled my stock Y pipe off my 71 it still was all original and had around 270k miles on it with no leaks and composite doughnuts. It was on a 302
clint

[george worley]

The exhaust doughnuts that I used and have had no problems with are made by Federal- Mogul and have the steel ring in them part #85002 for Ford TK. V8 1965-92

[kaptnkaos]

Yeah cdeal28078 ...

That's exactly what I wuz talkin' about.. the exhaust guy who helped me with my '71 CS taught me that one.

KaptnKA S

[FLATBEDFORD]

I just blew one out a month ago. I replaced with the composite one. It had a slight leak and it blew out on a long down hill run with about 2 tons of green firewood on back. I guess a backfire did it. Boy was it loud! Easy enough to replace.

[ToughOldFord]

I picked up the steel ones yesterday.
Personally it's a problem I've always had with BB Fords burning doughnuts, but the quickest one is the R/S bank on my bump. That's the one that starts to leak almost right after replacing it. Apparently at the top of the exhaust pipe there's a small lip/ridge that the doughnut fits on. Well, the lip's half gone on my R/S so I assume that's creating a weak spot on the doughnut and burns it out. Hopefully this steel one will do the job.

My whole exhaust system is Swiss cheese, but I never like a leak at the manifold, it just sounds poor. All I want to do is get the exhaust under the truck.

[FLATBEDFORD]

Those manifold leaks do sound like crap! A bad muffler is OK, but the manifold leaks suck.