Cylinder Head Dowels?

[98mitsubishigst]

Is it a must to have these....

i was looking at pictures and noticed that some do and some dont..

and i torqued my head down already and the gasket is in place...

soo any input?

 

[DSMopar]

Ummm yes it is a must...

 

[standard235]

Yes, the dowels are what center the cylinder head, not the bolts. Same reason the tranny needs them.

 

[Afroclipse]

There are like the rim on a condom cut it off and the condom still works, but it does help hold things together, pull up and most importantly install. Thats my analogy and I'm sticking to it.

 

[tkelly27]

There are like the rim on a condom cut it off and the condom still works, but it does help hold things together, pull up and most importantly install. Thats my analogy and I'm sticking to it.

This is the second condom analogy I've seen used on tuners.

It's not for helping installing it, it aligns the head to the block. Without them you can shift the cylinder head and gasket around such that you can have a bad seal. It's not a good idea kind of thing, it's required.

 

[LiquidX]

Why would you leave it out anyway? To answer, yes you need them like everyone else stated. Go and get a new gasket while your at it as well.

Another condom reference:

When you take it off, you use a new one.

 

[16G1G4G63Talon]

everyone is correct here....dowel pins are critical for alignment on any head or tranny...get you a new head gasket cause im pretty sure it may be pinched where it doesnt need to be and you may have water jacket holes plugged up, but most importantly, when you take the head off, you have to replace it anyway....we arent dealing with hondas, takes the guess work out dont ya think