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Any good HG suggestion?


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I need to buy a good headgasket for my 86 XT turbo.
You mean two good head gaskets right? Just making sure you know that if you have two different thicknesses on your head gaskets you would have different compression on each bank which could lead to some interesting running.

 

I haven't heard of any proven ones for turbo EA's yet. But there was talk about someone getting 500 laser cut copper ones made up, should be easy to find in this forum.

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replace both headgaskets no matter what. against what i knew and heard from others i replaced one head gasket once since it was the only one leaking. did not take long at all for the other to have problems as well, ended up replacing that one as well.

 

should be lots of headgasket information on here. i'd use the Fel-pro permatorque gaskets sinc ethey don't need to be retorqued. after that i'd use Subaru gaskets.

 

RAM performance sells a performance headgasket, there are new and noone on here has used them yet. i'd consider using these if i had a turbo motor and running more than stock compression. otherwise i'd stick with the fel-pro's and subaru's.

 

never heard of the ones you mentioned but these questions have been asked before, try a search on the forum.

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+1 for the Fel-Pro's - they rock.

 

GD

And another, thats what I use I think (lol, I think the rapper said fel-pro.) But I don't run a turbo especially at increased boost.

 

From what I gather, EA82t's just arn't any good for mods. People are doing it because they want to, which is cool. But don't mod because you want more power, get a EJ.

Sorry, biut off topic, I've had too much to drink this arvo.

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Yea I know to replace both HG's. I was just wondering what is good these ones are only 40 bucks with all other gaskets in the head. Seems good just for the other gasket to buy it. They are graphite with metal rings. Im planing on running 12 psi or so just to get a little more power then stock. 3'' exhaust and FMIC or TMIC I dont know yet. Only has 97k. So should be good. Like 200 crank or so. I think these gaskets will work.

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Only way they'll have a good chance of working is if you re-surface both the heads and the tops of the block halves. Don't let anyone tell you to just re-surface the heads - theres very little point.

Of course, that means you have to strip the entire engine down.....

 

gaskets like the fel pro ones they speak of are a little less sensitive to less than perfect surfaces.

 

Oh and a tip - even though they say mono torque or whatever, its good practice to at least leave the heads over night after torquing and re torque the next day. Strictly speaking, the same should be done with any fastener. If the bolts dont move when you try to re torque, back them off 10 degrees or so then torque them.

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Only way they'll have a good chance of working is if you re-surface both the heads and the tops of the block halves. Don't let anyone tell you to just re-surface the heads - theres very little point.

 

Thet's not true - the heads often warp, but the block does not. The surfaces may be fine, but the heads have to be milled flat to seal properly. I've also taken plenty apart with badly pitted head surfaces, but no evidence of damage to the block.

 

GD

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Thet's not true - the heads often warp, but the block does not. The surfaces may be fine, but the heads have to be milled flat to seal properly. I've also taken plenty apart with badly pitted head surfaces, but no evidence of damage to the block.

 

GD

 

That was my thought...

 

BTW, flyjum, at the extreme bottom right corner of ANY thread, there is a feature called Similar Threads. It is somehow much more intelligent than the search feature.. and it would be wise to click on a few of those threads and read others experiences. Most everyone who has done headgaskets more than twice says go with the Fel-Pro permatorque, unless you are buying a case of headgaskets, and don't mind the day or so it takes to replace them :-p

 

Also, it seems to be conventional wisdom that increasing boost over stock dramatically shortens headgasket lifespan, and the headgaskets are unquestionably the achilles' heel of the EA-82 engine. (yah, T-belts are a weak point too, but with a non-interference engine.. pfft) RAM performance is a company that makes aircraft engines, so bear in mind that their product is liable to be designed with long-life and reliability in mind.

 

After all, how much is your time, AND your peace of mind worth? I am Cheapo McCheap.. BUT some things you cant be cheap about.

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Good article on cylinder heads and engine blocks:

 

http://www.aa1car.com/library/ar996.htm

 

I've just experienced the failure at cold temperature of a newly installed head gasket and a probably not flat cylinder head - would weep/drip coolant until warmed up. Will be installing a "Stone" head gasket with a fresh rebuilt cylinder head. The "Stone" head gasket is the type carried by Discount Import Parts in Beaverton - has a nice contoured rubber seal integrated with the head gasket and better matches the coolant passageways than does FelPro.

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Thet's not true - the heads often warp, but the block does not. The surfaces may be fine, but the heads have to be milled flat to seal properly. I've also taken plenty apart with badly pitted head surfaces, but no evidence of damage to the block.

 

GD

 

 

I was talking about surface finish - this is also a very important factor to keep in mind when replacing HGs.

 

Graphite gaskets dont work well on very smooth surfaces - like you often end up with after removing an old head gasket.

 

The chances of the HG working, and continuing to work, are much higher with a freshly machined surface for it to grip to.

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