any tips to get the exhaust sealed at the head.
one of my next jobs.

[Edited on 8/12/08 by jambo]

Use the standard gasket rings and make sure the header pipes sit square in the exhaust ports and it should seal OK. There shouldn't be a need for assembly paste at the engine end but you may need a thin smear where the collector goes on to the headers.

Get some high temp silicone li ke this it's easier than exhaust paste.

Surely you want to keep any silicone products away from the exhaust if you ever need to put a lambda sensor in there.... Silicone and o2 sensors do not mix (ask the 1000s of motorists last year!).

Hi you can get silicone RTV liquid gasket which is compatible with sensors. I've used it fully expecting it to blow out or burn away but it lasted several weeks until I took it off again to replace the old metal gasket, I had used the RTV thinking it would be a temporary measure. Still flexible and was very easy to remove by a simple scraper or hand mostly.

use 2 sets of exhaust gaskets, it's the only way I got a good seal.