Short after assembling my B20VTEC, someone had told me they had heard of problems with head gaskets leaking if you do not remove several rivets in the head gasket.

I searched multiple sources but I didn't seem to find any threads on the topic. I found some posts of people suggesting to take out the rivets to STOP a leak.. Is it necessary to remove any rivets on an OEM head gasket on a B20/VTEC with a PR3 head, or is this possibly only for P72 heads?

 

it might cause a problem if you dont remove them. i have a b16 head on a ls block and i removed the two copper rings that hold the headgasket toghether. the two i removed were the ones that face towards the firewall. at one point i remember checking to see if the copper rings would cause a mating problem and they would've if i had left them one.

 

Thanks, I will wait for more feedback before really worrying... The engine is entirely assembled

 

i have never removed them and have yet to see such a problem

copper rings are there to create a seal
if it would not create a seal then why do they put them there and why would companies like SCE make nothing but copper gaskets

 

This would make sense if you're putting a vtec head gasket on GSR or B16A2 but, we're putting a vtec head on a non vtec block so they do interfere. Vtec head gasket rivets(facing firewall) sit outside of the block. They dont mate with head or block. A b20 gasket on the other hand has the rivets in a different location which wouldnt make the block/head sit flush. I have had overheating problems with a cometic gasket. I believe my builder left the rivets in but now I ordered an oem b20 one. I wonder if the rivets on the cometic gasket are thicker hence making my engine overheat? by the way b20 and cometic gasket have the same design, cometic is just thicker. Golden eagle head gaskets vtec oem gaskets bored out to bigger size. The GE head gaskets rivets DO NOT sit between the block and head. Cometics DO. I'm just trying to clear things up for you guys that are saying u don't need to remove them. You most likely have a vtec HG. The question is do we remove them on the b20/LS/cometic gaskets?

 

you remove them on a ls/b20 gasket, yes.

 

My question is if they don't allow to sit flush and you didn't remove them how is your motor assembled. Have you ran the motor in car yet? Has it given issues or leaked? Also has your head been milled cause when I got mine milled down and my block resurfaced the machine shop removed these for me without even asking.