Most of the gasket material is gone, leaving only the rusty steel core. This is why gaskets should not be added - Ford designed the manifolds to seal with a layer of chassis grease that gets baked into varnish (like seasoned cast Iron cookware) the first time the engine heats up. Alternatively, high-temperature silicone may be used.

.

The pointer in the background indicates the ONE bolt that sheared during removal. Fortunately, it broke just behind its head, leaving plenty exposed to make extraction easy.

.

Owner caption November 2009 · Photo 62 of 434