Triumph Repair: Replacing the inlet/exhaust manifold gasket, gasket material, wd 40

Question
I recently sent my carbs out to be rebuilt on my 69 TR-6. I notice a little scoring on the gasket (which might actually be original equipment with this car). My question is should I replace this gasket? If so, I'm going to have to remove the exhaust manifold which I suspect is not going to come off as easily as the inlet manifold. Also, I'm not entirely sure I know how to actually remove the gasket once it's totally exposed. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Hugh

Answer
Hi Hugh,
If a piece of the gasket had stuck to the carb manifold as you removed it then you probably need to replace the gasket. A gasket leak at this point can be disastrous to the engine.
Most of the time you can just remove the exhaust manifold nuts and pry the exhaust manifold away from the head enough to clean the surfaces and install a new gasket. A gasket scraper or puddy knife works well along with a pocket knife. Be sure all surfaces are clean before installing the new gasket. The gaskets are available from several sources. If you need a list of a few let me know.

The worst that can happen is that you brake a stud off in the head which then requires it to be drilled out and retaped threads or an insert installed. Use something like WD-40 on the threads before you try to remove the nuts. Most of the time they will come off. Use only 6 sided sockets to remove them.
If the gasket is not too bad,you don't need to replace it. You can reuse the same gasket by putting some gasket sealer on the surface before installing the intake manifold. When you say "a little scoring" that is a different amount of scoring to each person who looks at it. Even though you don't want a leak at an intake manifold, if any gasket material is stuck to the intake manifold and you have not cleaned it off or lost any piece of the gasket, you can still just use gasket sealer and make a good seal and just leave the old gasket in place. If you use sealer, don't put an excess amount on, just a thin complete coating is good. If you have cleaned pieces off of the intake manifold then you should replace the gasket. Let me know.
Howard