Intake Manifold Gaskets, Seals & Installation Sets

What Intake Manifold Gaskets Do

An intake gasket seals the mating surfaces between the manifold and the heads, so air and fuel enter only through the ports. On many V8s, it also seals the coolant crossover passages. When that seal fails, you can get a vacuum leak, a rough idle, or coolant and oil where they don't belong.

The gasket also has to match the port layout of your heads and intake manifolds. If the gasket opening is smaller than the port, the edge hangs into the airflow path. If it's too large or sits out of line, it can leave gaps that won't seal under vacuum.

That's why you'll see intake gaskets listed by engine family, head type, and port dimensions. Start with your engine and heads, and the list narrows quickly. Intake gaskets are one part of our full engine gaskets and seals lineup. If you're sealing up more than the top end, you can browse the complete gaskets and seals category for the rest of your build.

Intake Gasket Materials and Designs

The right design depends on your engine, your manifold, and how the sealing surfaces are machined. Most intake gaskets fall into one of these styles:

• Composite gaskets conform to minor surface flaws and suit many carbureted street engines.
• Rubber-coated steel and molded-rubber gaskets are common on late-model engines with precise factory machining.
• O-ring port seals sit in grooves in the manifold and seal each port on its own.
• Printed-bead gaskets use raised sealing beads on a thin carrier to seal each port and passage.

Fel-Pro offers both its Printoseal gaskets and H/P performance gaskets for popular V8 applications. MAHLE Performance Gaskets supplies sets for SBC Vortec, BBC rectangle-port, and small-block Ford engines. For LS engines, FAST offers LSX/LSXR 102mm intake port seals for LS1, LS6, and LS7 applications.

Holley also offers LS O-ring sets, including 508-23 for LS1/LS2/LS6 engines and 508-22 for LS3/LS7 engines. Pick the design your manifold maker calls for, since a groove-style LS manifold won't seal with a flat gasket.

Matching Port Size, Shape, and Thickness

Start with your cylinder heads, since they set the port shape, port size, and bolt pattern the gasket must match. Aftermarket heads often move or resize the ports, so a stock-style gasket may not line up.

Some gaskets are built for one head design. Fel-Pro offers a Printoseal gasket with a 1.300 x 2.310 in. port for SBC 602/604 crate engines, plus H/P gaskets for SBC 18-degree high-port heads and SB2 mirror-port heads. Chevrolet Performance offers gaskets for its SBC Fast Burn heads and 1989-2000 BBC rectangular-port heads. Brodix offers SBC and BBC intake gaskets, and AFR offers gaskets for BBC applications.

Thickness affects how the manifold lines up with the heads. Milled heads, a decked block, or thinner cylinder head gaskets move the heads closer together, so the manifold can sit high. Follow the manifold maker's thickness guidance to keep the ports and bolt holes aligned.

Your manifold choice matters too. Read our guides to single-plane vs. dual-plane intake manifolds and intake manifold runner size before you pick a gasket.

Intake Gaskets by Engine Family

Engine family is the quickest way to narrow your search. Here's what you'll find for common V8 families:

• SBC and BBC engines have options from Brodix, AFR, MAHLE, and Chevrolet Performance, including Vortec and rectangle-port designs.
• LS engines use O-ring port seals from FAST and Holley, plus a Chevrolet Performance gasket for the LSA.
• HEMI engines have the Fel-Pro MS97089 set for 2009-2020 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram 5.7L and 6.4L engines.
• Ford engines have Fel-Pro H/P gaskets for the 1970-71 429 CJ/SCJ and MAHLE sets for small-block Ford.
• Holden engines have a JEGS intake gasket set with POZISEAL for 1969-84 253-308 V8s.

Edelbrock offers gaskets for the Chrysler 5.7L and 6.1L HEMI and SBC Vortec Bowtie heads. It also offers a small-block Ford gasket for Victor Jr. heads. For late-model Chevy trucks, Fel-Pro offers a lower intake set for 1996-2002 Chevy 5.0L and 5.7L Vortec engines.

Modular Ford owners can follow our 5.4L SOHC Ford intake manifold installation walkthrough.

Intake Manifold Gasket Replacement and Sealer Tips

A clean, flat surface does most of the sealing work. Scrape off all old gasket material and sealer without gouging aluminum heads or manifolds. Then wipe both surfaces clean and dry.

Set the gaskets on the heads and check that the ports and bolt holes line up before you lower the manifold. Use sealer only where the gasket and manifold makers call for it, such as around coolant passages. On many SBC and BBC engines, builders run RTV gasket maker on the block end rails instead of rubber end seals.

Torque the bolts in sequence and in stages, then recheck after the first heat cycle if your instructions say to. With the intake off, inspect your valve cover gaskets too. If you're doing a full rebuild, full gasket sets bundle the intake, head, and other engine gaskets together. Shop Intake Manifold Gaskets Now to find the right fit for your engine.