This backdate project is much more difficult then I thought it would be. The car is fighting every step of the way. My latest and hopefully last problem is trying to remove two exhaust gaskets.

A PO installed two on one port and I cannot seem to remove them. I tried:
heat
drill
punch
plier

Nothing they will not budge. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

did you try to scrape them off? with like a screwdriver?

The heads are in the car, I can't really get a screw driver into the port at an angle that would allow me to scrape them off.

I have been using a punch to try to deform them but no go.

Try tapping them with a small chisel. They tend to sorta fold at the chisel line so you can get a cotter pin puller or similiar under it to pull it out. Be gentle so you don't damage the head. YMMV, but it worked for me.

They are like copper o-rings. Did you try to dig them out with a dental pick?

Worked for me.

Tried your suggestions and still they wont come out. The first ring is so deformed now that I created a ledge in which I can get some leverage with a big screw driver, but it will still not come out. It is as though the carbon from the exhaust has welded the two gaskets together and they are interferenced into the exhaust port.

Not sure what else to do?

They are copper rings, set on aluminum heads.
They would never weld on.
There may be a corrosive thing going on...but I doubt it aluminum>copper is not a big corrosion issue

So,
I would get a sharp wood chisel, and cut through one of them..then twist the legs towards the inside, and collapse it onto itself..it may loosen up the other one.

Or dremel.

Rich

Will do tomorrow, thanks guys.

I assume you have been blasting in copious amounts of some kinda penetrant? Also, maybe something that would attack the copper like , I dunno, .... Lime-A-Way or even draino. I'd wanna think about what it might do to the aluminum too....

Never had that kind of problem getting them out.

Are you sure you had a dental pick?

If not, soak it in something and come back tomorrow.

A PO use a 10MM stud with a 15MM nut and must have over torqued it (I had to cut the nut to get it off) probally compressing the rings so that the are now wedged into the port. I soaked the rings in LR will let it set over night and try to cut them tomorrow.

Thank you all, will let you know how it progresses.

Finally got the gaskets out a few weeks ago. They were wedged in pretty well, I had to file down the new gasket so I would not have the problem again. I suspect the PO had a similar problem and instead of trying to get the one out they just inserted a new gasket over the old.

I actually made tool to give me more leverage in pulling the gasket out.