i recently bout an engine rebuild kit for my 96 Z24. with the LD9 i was wonderin the kit came with the fel-pro headgasket and also a metal one. this car wiil pretty much be running stock for about a year then plan on turboing it. any ideas what gasket i should use?

Are you sure you did not get a head "spacer"? to maintain the correct distance from crank to cams?? The could be assuming you are machining your head when you do the rebuild, and need that to put it back in proper location in order to keep the correct timing.

I have never heard of a gasket kit coming with multiple head gaskets....

no the engine rebuild kit came with a complete gasket kit from fel-pro. which included the fel-pro headgasket. but the kit also came with " Performance Copper Head Gasket".

was this extra head gasket a part of a performance rebuild kit?? Like something from IPP for example??

If it is a copper gasket, they require lots of re-torque, hopefully there are instructions about how often this should be done with the gasket. If you are planning on tearing off the head again before you turbo, use the fel pro....otherwise just smack the copper one on now...

it acctually is frrom IPP and i dont plan on taking off th ehead again.
so u say stick with the copper head gasket?

So your first name is Jarvis?



FORGET GIRLS GONE WILD WE HAVE GOVERNMENT SPENDING GONE WILD!

umm... yea lol

I would say read about the torquing procedures on the head gasket, and if it is not something that will require constant attention....then smack it on.

BTW, you 2 should have some kind of love child...name him Jarvis Jarvis.

awww, thad be cute...

In response to your question. For what it is worth I am using a regular fel-pro headgasket in my car. Many have had good luck with them unless they are going for high boost numbers.

So did you buy this kit from IPP?
http://www.importperformanceparts.net/imports/pek-cavalier.html





Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, June 04, 2008 6:29 AM


FORGET GIRLS GONE WILD WE HAVE GOVERNMENT SPENDING GONE WILD!

ok tonite i will look at the torgueing procedures for the metal gasket. i have also used fel-pro on various other cars and had no issues what so ever. and wade that is where i got the kit. it is kit number 7 with .020 over pistons at 9.5-1 comp. the im gonna have this thing built should be able to hold a nice amount of boost. well at least till i have to find and ecu or get the computer reprogramed i believe.

Quote:

well at least till i have to find and ecu or get the computer reprogramed i believe.

that would be any boost

from what little i know... 9.5:1 and 20 over is not overly boost friendly... low boost numbers... sure... but it sounds like you are aiming for "a nice amount of boost" this is not the compression range you should be aiming for.

(larger bores means more volume compressed into the same sized combustion chambers... so your 9.5:1 pistons will be closer to 9.7:1 with a 20 over piston. that will be just dandy for low-moderate boost around 10psi or so... but much more than that and you will have trouble tuning it.)

i was going to make my own post... but i think i may just hijack yours for a second....

i am going for big boost... i have 8.5:1 compression and plan to be in the 20psi range.....

I am told that cometics are no good... and that for the money i am better off with a stock gasket. several sources tell me that they have seen the stock GM gasket hold up under boost better than the felpro....

of course a soild metal gasket would probably be the best bet... but that requires lots of machine work to the head and deck for a proper seal....

so i was told get a stock gasket (gm dealer $80) or if im cheap to go with felpro ($20 at autozone)... but for the cost and prep of a cometic... it isnt worth it.

my question then is... what do you all suggest?

stock felpro cometic or solid copper? and why?

(also, i dont want to alter compression or cam spacing by using a different thickness of gasket... so that also works against cometic.)

Screw it! If you want it to run without need to re-torque, and what to pull the head off again when you go to install the turbo, just get a Felpro Blue. Every bit as strong as a cometic would be in a F/I app when used in a non-boosted app with zero re-torquing required.


Go beyond the "bolt-on".

Ken, the set-up I'd recommend is a Copper Head Gasket w/ wire O-ring and ARP Head studs. Here's the instructions from Summit Racings Copper HG. It's more money and work, but would be the most durable method.

As for the Cometic (or other brands) Multi-Layer Steel HGs, I've never heard of them being a problem, unless the block and head aren't machined properly and/or proper torque procedure wasn't followed. Any metal HG, whether they are MLS or copper, require a certain surface texture, also know a the RMS. A competent machine shop will know the level to machine to for proper sealing. All HGs need flat sealing surfaces, but the surface flatness (runout) has to be much tighter on the metal HGs than a composite HG (stock or Fel-Pro). Most all machine shops will give you the proper run-out across the sealing surfaces, when they deck the block. The differences comes mostly from the speed in which the cut the surface, for the proper RMS. They usually run the mill at a slower speed for the finer surface.

A couple side notes on metal HGs: A seasoned (used) block will have much less Core Shift (thermal changes) than a new block would. Many car manufacturers are going to metal HGs (mainly MLS), but they have to heat cycle the block and head and machine them more accurately than before, raising the cost of manufacture, but the reliability increases substantially, saving them money in the long run, with fewer warranty repairs.

MadJack wrote:Ken, the set-up I'd recommend is a Copper Head Gasket w/ wire O-ring and ARP Head studs. Here's the instructions from Summit Racings Copper HG. It's more money and work, but would be the most durable method.

so they say nothing in there about re-torquing after use... just "recheck torque after a few minutes"

see my big problem here is that i just got my block BACK from the machine shop... they milled my head and deck, and cleaned the whole thing... cost me almost $400 for all that... so i really dont want to go back and do that all over again.

the surface on both is extremely smoothe and shiney.... i dont know what "rating" this would be... but i know it is 100% true now... and is about as shiney as any deck i have ever seen. not quite mirrored... but very shiney.

If i needed a finer surface, couldnt i just take some fine sandpaper to the deck to polish it up? or with the copper spray on a copper gasket, do you think my deck is fine as is? (i went to school for metalsmithing, so i am pretty good with working with metal, just never applied my skills to engines before)

I dont know if another $400 at the machine shop and then another $100 or so for the copper is worth using a copper gasket... when i can get a felpro for $20.