I was very thorough in cleaning the surfaces. I used Permatex's Gasket Remover following by a parts cleaner and a scotch-brite pad. On the manifold, I also hosed it off and blew it out just to make sure I got all the dust and loose gasket material. (obviously I couldn't hose out the engine).

The odd thing is when pulling it apart I can't see where it failed. I'd sure like to avoid another redo on this.

thanks,

Jeff