Hi everyone,
I had a blown head gasket & i had no idea! I bought a set of Trick flow 23 & I was in the process of installing them when I noticed the gasket in between 3 & 5 was discolored. With a closer inspection I found that gases has been seeping across this gap!
I cleaned everything up but I've noticed when I lay a straight edge over the block in between cylinders 3 & 5 I have a very small hair like gap . My question is will my head gaskets make up for this or do I need to put some type of sealant on the block first & then lay the head gasket in place? The head gaskets I have are Felpro 1010. The compressed vol is .38 ...... Is this enough "gasket" to do the job or do I need some type of gasket maker goo?
I dont have the money for a block refreshing so I need some quick & easy remedies.
Thanx
njdaewoo

 

What you need to do first, is get a set of feeler gauges to measure with. Find the largest one in the set that will fit in your "hairline gap" under the straightedge... This wil tell you the amount of warpage you have. I don't know what the max reccomended spec is, but i'm sure someone here does =)
I'd imagine anything more than .1 would warrant machining the surfaces though...

Hellraiser

 

I don't know the allowable specs for warpage but I do know that you cannnot use any type of "gasket maker" on the block to head areas, it will never last. if you find that there is too much warpage you will have to bite the bullet and do the machine work.

 

If it's blown a head gasket on the block side then it's recommended to get the block decked.

Using a straightedge use a .003" feeler gauge. If it slides under then there's a depression. If a .005" feeler gauge slides under then the block needs to be decked or you'll just blow another head gasket.