Hey guys, im putting my b16 back together and im kinda short on cash.. i just want to know if you HAVE to replace the head gasket?.. the old one looks fine... help me out =]

 

Only if you don't want it to leak.

 

to be honest with you, depending on the mileage, u can reuse and not have it leak. however I wouldn't want to pull the head of my engine to replace a cheap part like a headgasket anytime soon down the road.

mike

p.s. i have one for sale if u are interested

 

well man i had the same prob yesterday... well i am changing valve train and i didnt want to pull head off but i did anyways..but u are spendnig all that money and time to get where u are now why cheap out and maybe have to do it again or even pay someone to do it again..
i am putting a new one one...

 

Head gasket job - 30min, throw the old one back on and see what happens

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Goldfingiz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Head gasket job - 30min, throw the old one back on and see what happens </TD></TR></TABLE>It really only take you 30 minutes?

 

Long time ago, I blew my motor, had to throw in a B16 right away to have a car for work. It was Sunday, didn't have a new gasket, so I reused the old one, it was in "ok" condition from the look of it. Sold that car and it's still running 2 years later, no leaks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 3rdGteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It really only take you 30 minutes? </TD></TR></TABLE>

yea, thats what i was thinking....

 

Why take the chance. It would be a pain in the *** to have to take the head off again because of a leak (or pay someone else to do it). I would change it 'cause if it does leak then you're gonna kick yourself.

 

I recently changed out my head gasket on my beater gen2 only to find I had a bent valve. I had to take the head off again to replace the valve. The headgasket was torqued down previously but the car was never turned on. Is it safe to reuse it?

 

*what if* you removed the top layer and copper sealed the used gasket? kind of like making your own Mugen gasket. I don't really condone this, but it's a though I've had... for emergency situations.

 

many hardcore builders will say you can reuse the gasket just liberally spray some liquid gasket on the gasket....most of these have been done on stock gaskets....not aftermarkets....so all of you who are running a mugen gasket or smaller gap i really suggest you fork up the change and buy another...good luck w/ the motor!

 

ok after I replaced the valve I re-used the brand new head gasket (did'nt spray any sealant on it) however it had previously been crushed but the car had never been turned on. Ran a compression test - #1 was strong, and 2,3,4 (~50psi) were bad then I realized I had aligned my tbelt from the wrong TDC mark, it was like 20 degrees off from the real TDC. Redid the timing so now its right, but compression tests results are now actually worse! wtf? #1 still the strongest but now 2,3,4 are terrible, like ~20psi or 0.

pretty sure the problem isnt the bottom end, it had strong compression test results prior to this whole mess. And its unlikely 3 piston rings would be bad.

Everyone think the culprit is the head gasket? Its is possible for a bad head gasket to leak THAT much? I dont want to throw $50 at it and take the head off for a 3rd time if its not the head gasket. Thx for your input!


Modified by Muckman at 10:05 PM 7/28/2003

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok after I replaced the valve I re-used the brand new head gasket (did'nt spray any sealant on it) however it had previously been crushed but the car had never been turned on. Ran a compression test - #1 was strong, and 2,3,4 (~50psi) were bad then I realized I had aligned my tbelt from the wrong TDC mark, it was like 20 degrees off from the real TDC. Redid the timing so now its right, but compression tests results are now actually worse! wtf? #1 still the strongest but now 2,3,4 are terrible, like ~20psi or 0.

pretty sure the problem isnt the bottom end, it had strong compression test results prior to this whole mess. And its unlikely 3 piston rings would be bad.

Everyone think the culprit is the head gasket? Its is possible for a bad head gasket to leak THAT much? I dont want to throw $50 at it and take the head off for a 3rd time if its not the head gasket. Thx for your input!


Modified by Muckman at 10:05 PM 7/28/2003</TD></TR></TABLE>I think you may have bent some valves since you misaligned the timing belt (20 degrees )) and cranked the engine to do a compression test with the timing belt not set right. You may consider a leakdown test to ensure it's the headgasket or valves, etc. before pulling the head and wasting money on a new gasket and not being able to fix the problem. Just my .02 cents, good luck man.....