I have given this question some thought.  Another related question is what
kind of gasket is necessary?  I have a 1982 AC Westy and many of the on-line
vendors carry exhaust gaskets that seem to be composed of a thin metal plate
sandwhiched between some kind of metal foil.  They are kind of expensive and
ordering/replacing them every time you need to pull the exhaust gets a
little old.  I have started re-using these gaskets if they are still in good
shape with good results.  One time I was in a bit of a pinch and I picked up
a cheap paper exhaust gasket from my FLAPS and it also sealed up fine.  I
have always used gasket sealer, one brand was orange and the stuff I have
now is yellow.  They were both advertised as "high temp" gasket sealer.

It seems like common sense that all of the imperfections should be filed off
of the mating surface before re-installation.  If that is done, I have had
no problem getting the exhaust to seal up using a range of gaskets and
sealants.

Jake

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
Tim Demarest
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 9:15 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Exhaust gaskets... sealer?

Thanks to all who replied!

At 07:33 PM 3/29/2006 -0500, Tim Demarest wrote:
>OK, quick question... one I don't recall seeing addressed here. What sealer
>(if any) should be used on the various exhaust gaskets for a 1.9 engine?
>
>Tim