Exhaust Bbk Shorty Header Leak

I use allen head bolts and lock washers from the hardware store.
Never a leak on my BBK Shorties.

I also used lock washers and no issues

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Are the Stage 8 fasteners any good?

I know when I had my MAC headers the one thing that was nice about them vs other headers I have owned was that each tube was on a separate flange. They never loosened on me. Every solid flange header I have owned has been a pain in the but to keep the bolts tight.

The Stage 8 bolts work very well. I've used those on my drag car's 460 with Hooker super comp headers (very thin flanges) and they completely solved the problem you mentioned. They're pricey but totally worth the money to avoid blowing out your exhaust gasket or warping your header flanges.

The cool thing about their bolts is that they have an udersized head so that you can get a wrench or socket on them more easily, and they even have a recessed allen head in middle of the hex for tight headers where you can't get directly on them with a wrench or socket. They do sell a couple of different types with different prices, so double check that your getting this typ of bolt before you order them. They also sell them with two different types of antirotation cams as well; one sytle uses a flat spotted washer under the e-clip, the other has a tear drop shaped cam instead - both work well.

One trick that I did notice with them is that you have to give the new header gasket some heat cycles to shink up over time before you install the anti-rotation cams. Usually I drive the car a couple of times, and retighten the botls each time - or at least check them. After three or four heat cycles and snugging up the bolts each time, then install the cams and you should be good. This probably doesn't apply to metal gaskets or the factory style gaphite ones, but those Felpro ones really do shrink over time.

The other thing to consider is the bolt length. They sell them in .75", 1", and 1.25" lengths. You don't want to find out that you've ordered a set that's too long or too short after you've laid down $60 on friggen header bolts. The BBK shorties on my Cobra have a pretty thick flange and the .75" bolts only stuck out about 1/4" which equates to about 3 threads engaging once you stack on the gasket thickness. I went with the 1" bolts for a more secure fit. They were a little bit tricky to get in around some of the primary tubes, but it worked. The 1.25" versions were probably too long and would not have worked.

Good luck! =)