Cometic Head Gasket?

[407gst]

Well i needed to rebuild my head. I decided to put in arp studs and a cometic headgasket.
The problem is that i was unable to to start the car after rebuild. I took it to a mechanic my family deals with from time to time. It didnt start because the cam sensor broke. They replaced it and it started but it also started spitting coolant from between the block and the head. The mechanic told me i had to replace the head gasket because it was put on upside down or something. I just wanna know if ican reuse this gasket?

-remember the car was on for only a few seconds

 

[Cs4g63]

It isnt so much that the car was only on for a couple of minutes that determines whether or not you can reuse the head gasket. It is the fact that you have already installed the head gasket and it has been crushed to seal already. Reinstalling it a second time will cause it to be crushed in a diferent position and it will have problems sealing afterwards.

 

[jeremy19984g63]

I done it once on a friends car, but i copper sprayed it first. I let it dry overnight before installing, and it sealed good! No problems yet!

 

[jeremy19984g63]

I had to remove the head after installing, because of a defective head bolt.

 

[407gst]

okay thanks guys. So is it even possible to put the head gasket the wrong way though?
is there any other reason why coolant would be coming out like that?

 

[jeremy19984g63]

Yes, if it is put on face down, the coolant passages in the head and block will not line up with the ones in the gasket.

 

[kyanox]

Spray it down with copper coating, and lay it back down it should seal, i've done a ton of research on this one. Im actually debating on if we want to use ours a second time due to piston/head clearance issues on a decked block/head (it was that way when i got it)

 

[NateFrame]

I just rebuilt my engine and I used a cometic H.G. Just from holding it in my hands it really looks like a quality piece. You have to be very carful putting it on because there are rivets that hold together the different layers of the gasket. There is only one right way to put it on as far as I know. The rivets should be sticking out, so you should be able to see them after you put the head on. The rivets will not compress very well, and that maybe why you had a problem.

here is a couple of pictures, I hope they help.

 

[kyanox]

We found our problem...

The problem was the head guides, they were marred up, so the gasket didnt seal. Nice block by the way. I sure wish I had painted mine up before reassembling it, but we're going for a total sleeper with this ride.

Im going to run a compression test on it today, it should seal though.

Chris

 

[NateFrame]

Those can be a pain, I had to align mine and tap tap with a rubber hammer. Seated very good, then cranked on the arp's. Do you know if your are suppost to re tourqe the head studs after xxx miles of operation?

 

[kyanox]

I've heard no, but i've also heard your supposed to torque and retorque the head stud's 5 times in sequence.

So thats what we did, torqued, un torqued, retorqued, to 80 lbs which seems to be the average torque per what i been hearing on here.

Im not new to DSM's just new to cometic gaskets. I was using mitsu mls so they should be similar, but i got interested in a cometic when i ran a buddy's talon at the track and he was boosting 30psi.