Exhaust donut gasket (which direction?)
 

I'm replacing the donut gasket between the header and H-pipe and have a question:

I just purchased GM# 12555555 and I'm not sure which direction the metal flange should be inserted into. Is it into the headers or the H-Pipe?

Also, should I bend out the ears at all or just leave it as-is? Thanks!

See photo.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/2875/mediumh.jpg

ttt ... I'm about to head home and work on this. Does anybody know what the point of the metal rim is on one side of the donut? I'm not sure if it matters as to which direction it's installed. I dont want to make a mistake and have to pull it out once again.

Thanks!

that feature is just there to facilitate assembly on the line. Since the gasket is held captive, the assembler does not need to keep it center when the exhaust is being installed. The donut itself should be symmetrical, so install the flange in the exhaust pipe.

Thank you very much! Seemed it didn't have much of a purpose. I appreciate the help!