Where should I buy a head gasket set for this engine? I'm confused whether the Felpro, OEM, or other gasket set is the best, and the prices seem to vary wildly between $100 and $170. Also according to this page http://www.drivewire.com/honda....html there are 3 different gasket sets depending on date on manufacture, but they all have the same part number? What would be different and how can I tell the date of manufacture from the VIN?

I am inclined to buy the Felpro HS9851PT-1 which is 129.99 at Autozone.

Also, are the head bolts reusable or a TTY type? In the haynes book they are listed in a 3 stage torque, not a torque then angle, so they seem like they would be reusable, I'll just clean them up with a die if so.

The context here is that I had a burned valve from valve stem seals leaking, it is in the shop for a valve job now, so I'm getting a timing kit and water pump in addition to the gasket set once I can figure out which set to buy. Cleaning the deck with a brass grill brush. Any hints to make this a one time only job?


Modified by runderwo at 10:01 PM 5/13/2006


Modified by runderwo at 5:14 PM 5/14/2006

 

OK, I bought the Felpro gasket set. I still don't know what to do about the head bolts.