5thgencivic

I have a question about a D16Z6 I will be building. The surface on the deck has a scrape in it. It is right next to the crankcase breather port. If I deck the block(it's going to be bored and honed too) too much the pistons are going to come out of the hole. Looks like I can only go .004" Do you think the headgasket will still seal ok if there is a minor imperfection left? My other option is to deck it .030" and run regular length rods(am going with the Vitara setup) so the pistons won't come out of the hole but compression will be a lot lower. Any help is appreciated.

B and B

iTrader: (3)

I think there is very little pressure in that area, and you have a good margin of sealing surface to the nearest pressure area..the coolant.
I'd spray the gasket with Copper Coat and forget about it. Kick *** with that Vitara build. What rods are planned, btw?
Damn, you've been here since Feb/03...OG

TomCat39

You know this is a back yard, ghetto fix but where it's at is a non critical section (unlike say the sleeve), so I would actually clean the scratch with some non chlorinated brake clean, mix up a little JB Weld cold weld epoxy, fill the scratch, let it cure and sand that spot down with a block sander. It's on the outside edge of the head gasket so as long as it's smooth it's not going to have the leak issues it does around the sleeves.

But that's just something I would do and wouldn't think twice about it. Now if it was anywhere near the sleeves or the water jacket, then I'd be sweating bullets.

Or if you don't like that idea you could use a small dab of loctite 30558 right there just before you lay down the head gasket and then the head and torque it all down. It will conform perfectly and the ratings of it are a little overkill for the purpose:

LoctiteŽ High Temperature Gasket Maker. Slow-setting, non-hardening, high-temperature sealant. Recommended for heavy-duty applications. Seals up to 5,000 psi. Temperature range is -50°F to 600°F (-45°C to 315°C) intermittent. Resists common shop fluids. Applications include aircraft heating systems, steam lines.

It's alcohol based so clean up with a little isopropyl. I use it on my exhaust flanges as cure time is like 3 hours.

Technology	Solvent based
Chemical Type	Resin / Isopropanol / Fillers
Appearance	Gray liquidLMS
Components	One part - requires no mixing
Viscosity	Very high
Cure	Solvent evaporation
Application	Gasketing or Sealing
Product Benefits	• Easy application
	• Increases reliability at high temperatures
	• Cuts repair time
	• Reduces breakdowns
	• Resistant to wide range of oils, fuels, lubricants and chemicals
	• Seals pressures up to 34 MPa