Best head gasket

[jdm9221]

I'm running a 6 bolt block,7 bolt head, and arp studs. I daily the car at 19psi but this morning my headgasket popped. I am getting the head decked and resurfaced but I don't plan on getting the block decked. I want something that can handle around 300-350hp daily. Any suggestions are helpful Thanks

 

[Mello]

I'd go with an OEM composite (or a Felpro).

 

[SasaniFab]

I'm running a 6 bolt block,7 bolt head, and arp studs. I daily the car at 19psi but this morning my headgasket popped. I am getting the head decked and resurfaced but I don't plan on getting the block decked. I want something that can handle around 300-350hp daily. Any suggestions are helpful Thanks

I have been through 4-5 headgaskets.....the hks headgasket is the best gasket you can purchase for this motor imo. Its a thing of beauty. If your not getting any deck work done, go with a oem composite.

 

[boostdawd]

I also recommend the oem composite or felpro composite.make sure u also get those arp head studs torqued to 90ftlbs

 

[Vic321]

I've never had a problem with oem. As long as your head and deck surfaces are flat you should be good to go. Btw you should always check it with a straight edge and feeler gauges even after you have it machined just in case.

 

[Wahine81]

We had the same issue with our Eclipse. 2 valves got bent and head needed resurfacing, due to the water pump blowing and shredding the timing belt at the same time. D tried to fix it 4 times before be took the head in & just as many gaskets (perhaps a few more even) As u have gone thru.. Every time we started it after the curing process it never failed to drop all of its oil (we ended up replacing oil pan too). So I recommend this red gel "gasket maker" u can get from O'Reilly/Auto Zone. If your head is smooth good to go: then u want to squeeze a very thin line all around the curves on the side of the gasket u will join with engine--be sure not to glob on so much that it will come out the sides when applied. I know that was important but cant recall why. Its also very important to let the seal cure for as long as possible. If u can leave it be for 24-48 hours that should probably be fine. Ours still burns a little oil sometimes, but impossible to pinpoint where/when; so we spring for the {Royal Purple} full synthetic motor oil ( it totally babies the engine). 'Net says it's supposed to be a 10-15k miles/once a year oil change. We probably do it 2-3 times a year. We can feel it when she wants new oil...best of luck, Best Gasket!

 

[curt-s]

Wait.. are you seriously suggesting OP apply a gasket maker compound between the head gasket and the head/block surface(s)? Or, is there confusion with the oil pan sealing surface happening here? I can't tell.
Do not apply a gasket maker to a headgasket.

 

[Wahine81]

Wait.. are you seriously suggesting OP apply a gasket maker compound between the head gasket and the head/block surface(s)? Or, is there confusion with the oil pan sealing surface happening here? I can't tell.
Do not apply a gasket maker to a headgasket.

My Husband used t as the shop told him, he applied it to the gasket not the head, didnf apply it until the stuff was "tacky"; that was 2.5 years ago so it works...

 

[curt-s]

doesnt matter if you put it on the gasket or the head or block, its still a no. i wouldnt trust a shop that recommended that with even changing a spark plug on my lawn mower.

 

[Wahine81]

doesnt matter if you put it on the gasket or the head or block, its still a no. i wouldnt trust a shop that recommended that with even changing a spark plug on my lawn mower.

I wish this damn thing would just reply, not quote, I need a New phone. Been glitching & crashing no matter what method I used to erase the text so that I can write. Anyway, it's all good dude. I have been using this site occasionally, at least all this year, but I only registered yesterday. I came across your post & u were looking for helpful suggestions. All I can do is impart my own experience~ Logical counsel on the side as needed. I am sorry that I wasn't able to Help u, unless U count deciding what u won't do as helpful... Oddly enough I kinda picked something new up from u instead; the question is, "What reasons are behind the emphatic "NO!" not to apply gasket maker that way. It was either Auto Zone or O'Reilly; just because they work there, does not mean they know what the Hell they are talking about. The cashiers should stay at the counter, while the few personnel that do have a clue, should mingle and putter around the store keeping themselves open & available to serve a customer.. Its a sad fact how many peeps are working harder not smarter & lack enough integrity to admit they dont know what the f*** they were talking about ; they can howeverget their supervisor/manager, promptly, to Help instead. I value knowledge for it's own sake, and so that I am better equipped to pass it on to those that actually listen(&want to hear.) Wasting breath, time, cold air, ice, , etc. When one faces death, One either succumbs; Or one returns with a stronger fortitude & mental acuity; My time is valuable and I alone choose how it should be spent.

 

[Brembo]

I wish this damn thing would just reply, not quote, I need a New phone. Been glitching & crashing no matter what method I used to erase the text so that I can write. Anyway, it's all good dude. I have been using this site occasionally, at least all this year, but I only registered yesterday. I came across your post & u were looking for helpful suggestions. All I can do is impart my own experience~ Logical counsel on the side as needed. I am sorry that I wasn't able to Help u, unless U count deciding what u won't do as helpful... Oddly enough I kinda picked something new up from u instead; the question is, "What reasons are behind the emphatic "NO!" not to apply gasket maker that way. It was either Auto Zone or O'Reilly; just because they work there, does not mean they know what the Hell they are talking about. The cashiers should stay at the counter, while the few personnel that do have a clue, should mingle and putter around the store keeping themselves open & available to serve a customer.. Its a sad fact how many peeps are working harder not smarter & lack enough integrity to admit they dont know what the f*** they were talking about ; they can howeverget their supervisor/manager, promptly, to Help instead. I value knowledge for it's own sake, and so that I am better equipped to pass it on to those that actually listen(&want to hear.) Wasting breath, time, cold air, ice, , etc. When one faces death, One either succumbs; Or one returns with a stronger fortitude & mental acuity; My time is valuable and I alone choose how it should be spent.

WTF? NO GLUE ON HEAD GASKET. PERIOD. No ice, no hell. No manager. Just NO. On oil pan sure, possible, maybe.

HAHA Made my day. Thank You.

 

[SasaniFab]

I personally dislike composite gaskets, this doesn't mean that they are bad, in fact many people have had great luck with them. I think for most guys a composite gasket will do the job asked of them. The way I look at it if You pull the head and check the deck and it's close to factory limits, the block should be pulled imo. Once again we all use are cars differently, if my talon was my daily and I was running sub 30 psi I probably wouldn't care. At those boost levels I'm confident I could run my motor for a very very long time no sweat. For the small percentage of guys in the 40+psi territory a composite gasket is not a good idea imo. I noticed at high cylinder pressures caused by high boost or timing the head will flex and the gasket material will actual start to erode away. When the sealing ring around the cylinder fails the combustion gases will escape and actually remove bits of the gasket material. So if you plan on running a composite gasket on high boost make sure your tune is on point and your timing is realistic. Ask me how my dumbass knows...

 

[curt-s]

What the actual f..

Anyway, OP, for 19psi and normal amounts of timing 91/94/e85, a felpro or oem composite gasket is fine and will have to do given that you are not going to deck the block and give it the surface you need for proper sealing with anything but. However, i would still look at the block surface, straight edge it (not with a home hardware ruler or level) and have it numbered for RA even with a composite. Shit surface will make for shit seal, regardless of gasket type. I am willing to bet heavily you cannot run a MLS as-is with your current surfaces given you popped a composite.

Wahine, I wouldnt think somebody would need to explain why putting a gasket maket compound would be a bad idea with a composite gasket (and even worse with MLS) but it involves improper compressive and adhesion qualities, or lack thereof. It ends up interfering with the proper compression amd adhesion of the gasket itself to both surfaces and is just a plain bad idea. I bet the person who said it would work has the same knowledge level as the guy at the local MACHINE shop here that media blasted one of my heads' mating surface against my wishes and told me it would still seal fine.

RTV on the oil pan is actually the proper way to seal that and comes so from factory. oil pan gaskets are strictly aftermarket things and do not seal nearly as well, namely because you cannot compress the gasket enough given the low torque applied on the bolts. leaky leaky.

 

[jdm9221]

I ended up picking up a felpro permatourqe so I'll be running arp studs and a felpro. How does one easily take tension off the timing belt? I have everything else off but I don't want to have to pull the accessory belts and lower timing cover just to loosen it. Is there an easier way?

 

[boostdawd]

Try not to skip out on timing components. Make sure u do it right and remove all the accessories and lower timing cover. Timing needs to be dead on. I personally don't know of an easier way.

 

[SasaniFab]

I ended up picking up a felpro permatourqe so I'll be running arp studs and a felpro. How does one easily take tension off the timing belt? I have everything else off but I don't want to have to pull the accessory belts and lower timing cover just to loosen it. Is there an easier way?

Measure twice, cut once .....Do yourself a favor, if you find yourself get frustrated or getting lazy just stop what your doing and start again at a later time. Trying to take shortcuts will always end up f***ing you at the end.

 

[Boomdeeze]

Just for the record, the blocks on these are cast iron so the chances of the block needing to be resurfaced are slim. With the head being resurfaced, I would run an OEM MLS HG. I have the same combo engine setup as the OP (6 bolt/2G head) and run the MLS HG with L19s torqued to 105 ft lbs with no issues. I have track passes, daily driving and "spirited" driving on the car with no smoking at all. The trick for the block is to clean it very well.

I use copper spray on my head gaskets as well to give it a little extra, only downfall is if you have to pull the head again it sucks to clean up. Check the timing several times before buttoning it up and be sure the timing tensioner has the correct gap/tension before calling it good.

 

[curt-s]

Its not just for straightness, even though iron will warp over time after frequent heat cycling and due to 20+ year old blocks. The other reason is to get the surface RA within acceptable limits for MLS/composite or even just to clean it up. Composites hide a lot of imperfection but are not miracle workers. It all depends on condition of the surface. How many gaskets have gone on? How have they been cleaned off? Are there tooling marks on the surface?

I would always get the block surface at least checked for straightness at the minimum and smoothness depending on initial inspection. I am in no way willing to generalize that just because it is iron, it is probably ok. These motors are put through hell by a lot of owners either because of power numbers, lack of maintenance and care, poor tuning, etc. They are also not virgin blocks. The entire block is subject to so much force and strain that causes deformation that it is bound to go out of spec after a while. That is a fact. If Kiggly developed a girdle to keep the bottom end true, what do you think the deck goes through?

Changing head gaskets is a pain, not to mention the head bolt holes in the block can only survive so many torquings. Why not go into it eyes open and know what you are running is correct? It is better than anecdotal evidence.

 

[Vor V Zakone]

I have also had good luck with the fel pro. It ran great on a 16g with a all the way closed mbc. My buddy ran enough boost to melt 2/4 pistons.

I have ran a 6g72 rebuild without decking anything. Thats with a oem mls gasket. The motor has about 12k on it and never had a problem with anything. As long as you check it you should be good to go.

 

[zedicus]

We had the same issue with our Eclipse. 2 valves got bent and head needed resurfacing, due to the water pump blowing and shredding the timing belt at the same time. D tried to fix it 4 times before be took the head in & just as many gaskets (perhaps a few more even) As u have gone thru.. Every time we started it after the curing process it never failed to drop all of its oil (we ended up replacing oil pan too). So I recommend this red gel "gasket maker" u can get from O'Reilly/Auto Zone. If your head is smooth good to go: then u want to squeeze a very thin line all around the curves on the side of the gasket u will join with engine--be sure not to glob on so much that it will come out the sides when applied. I know that was important but cant recall why. Its also very important to let the seal cure for as long as possible. If u can leave it be for 24-48 hours that should probably be fine. Ours still burns a little oil sometimes, but impossible to pinpoint where/when; so we spring for the {Royal Purple} full synthetic motor oil ( it totally babies the engine). 'Net says it's supposed to be a 10-15k miles/once a year oil change. We probably do it 2-3 times a year. We can feel it when she wants new oil...best of luck, Best Gasket!

i have used that red gel gasket tack (it is a gasket sealant, not a gasket maker) on some rather questionable engines in the past where people just could not 'get it done right' honestly the stuff does work. but it is not fixing the issue, it is working around the problem.

 

[donniekak]

I have ran a 6g72 rebuild without decking anything. Thats with a oem mls gasket. The motor has about 12k on it and never had a problem with anything. As long as you check it you should be good to go.

The 6g blocks only have 3 cylinders per bank. The shorter the span the less warpage you get. Most virgin 4g blocks I see are out of flat at least .002".

 

[Vor V Zakone]

The 6g blocks only have 3 cylinders per bank. The shorter the span the less warpage you get. Most virgin 4g blocks I see are out of flat at least .002".

Thank you for clearing that up. Im fresh from the 3s world and getting my feet wet in all the new tech and 4g stuff.

By get my feet wet I mean I have bought 3 talons in the last month and a half. I cant believe how fast these cars are for not a lot of cha ching.

I still have my Vr4 but its getting expensive. I really just need to figure out how to tune an aem ems and have the black beast back together. The dsm format has been cheaper so far.

and donnie kak you have helped me more than a few times on 3si. I think you even answered my questions about a torque plate. Thanks for all the questions you answer.

 

[Bluecifer361]

so you only wanna use the hks headgasket if you get the head and block resurfaced?
i cant replace the gasket i have on the car now with one? im installing head studs and just need a good gasket replacement

 

[Bluecifer361]

I have been through 4-5 headgaskets.....the hks headgasket is the best gasket you can purchase for this motor imo. Its a thing of beauty. If your not getting any deck work done, go with a oem composite.

 

[Bluecifer361]

anyone?