Exhaust Manifold Gasket Leak

[Waterloo]

I wonder if you had an extreme high heat issue and it damaged your manifold? When I had my in frame done, I had them check my exhaust manifold for warping, it passed that test, but the gasket was rather toasty in one spot, cannot remember which cylinder. My truck had a high heat incident prior to me purchasing, I discovered this when I eliminated the mandate and discovered my head was bad. It is a CM-871, wound up replacing the head with a new OEM along with everything else on the motor... And I mean just about everything. The old manifold stayed, but I did have them install new bolts and spacers along with the gasket, of course.