Exhaust carbon build up

[Nurse Julie]

Should I get brass or alloy gaskets ?

[Trigger]

Should I get brass or alloy gaskets ?

Not brass, copper

[Nurse Julie]

Ooops, looked like brass to me 

[Trigger]

Ooops, looked like brass to me 

Use what ever comes free but, i use the copper on the 400's 

[taysidedragon]

When I cleaned up the exhaust ports on my 400's head I prised out the old gaskets only to find a second set of gaskets underneath!

The exhaust gaskets are crushable to form a seal, so you should use new ones each time.

Sump washers in alloy or copper are just plain washers so can be annealed to soften them for re-use. Don't heat them to red hot though, they're not mild steel. Just heat them up and quench in cold water. Dry off and ready to go. 

[Clem2112]

18291028306 is the genuine Honda item for £3 each from DSS.
These stay put when placed in position as they are the right diameter.
Makes refitting the pipes less tedious as they don't go wakkabout !

[Lynx]

You should always use new exhaust port gaskets. I've seen 2 in each port before too but at the low cost, it's just not worth it. I'd scrape out any carbon you can as it's only going to get worse.