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Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: November 30th, 2021, 4:38 pm
by greers85
I need a little help making sure I have the correct head gasket (.043 MLS). I am having trouble verifying the thickness to make sure this is correct. I have the Fel Pro 26211PT.
Any help verifying this or telling me the correct gasket I should purchase would be great. I may be reading my calipers wrong so telling me where to properly take my measurements would be great too!
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: November 30th, 2021, 10:43 pm
by Cheromaniac
The head gasket thickness quoted by manufacturers is the expected thickness after it's been compressed. That particular MLS gasket is quoted to have a bore of 3.990" and a compressed thickness of 0.040".
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 1st, 2021, 2:55 am
by greers85
Ok, so this one when compressed will be incorrect. Where should I be purchasing the gasket so that I can guarantee the .043 that I need?
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 1st, 2021, 10:06 pm
by Brianj5600
Is 0.003" thinner gasket a problem? It makes almost no difference in compression. Is your quench borderline tight?
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 1st, 2021, 11:46 pm
by Cheromaniac
Brianj5600 wrote: ↑December 1st, 2021, 10:06 pm
Is 0.003" thinner gasket a problem? It makes almost no difference in compression. Is your quench borderline tight?
What he said. The 0.003" difference in head gasket thickness is far too small to worry about.
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 6th, 2021, 5:16 am
by greers85
Brianj5600 wrote: ↑December 1st, 2021, 10:06 pm
Is 0.003" thinner gasket a problem? It makes almost no difference in compression. Is your quench borderline tight?
That is what I found out from Cometic. They offer a .045 and say there will be no effect on compression. However yes my machinist was concerned that anything less would potentially be too tight. So .045 it is.
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 6th, 2021, 2:22 pm
by Brianj5600
What quench is your machinist shooting for?
Re: Checking New Head Gasket Thickness
Posted: December 6th, 2021, 6:44 pm
by greers85
Brianj5600 wrote: ↑December 6th, 2021, 2:22 pm
What quench is your machinist shooting for?
I will need to double check with them to make sure. My machinist knew that i was shooting for a 9.57:1 compression running 91 octane, in order to do that Russ suggested the .043 MLS. That is the specs i used to communicate the needs to the shop. The only information i received (probably didn't ask enough questions or all the right ones) is that I could go as low as a .040 but that was as thin as they would recommend.
I do not have a head yet, am i jumping the gun on the gasket without it? I am new to being this deep into a motor so any suggestions or caution while i can still course correct would be awesome.
What I have so far:
Hot Tank and Mag
Bored and Honed for Russ's RaceTech Pistons 30 over
Scat Crank and Rods
Balanced the Assembly