Author Topic: Reuse head gasket ??  (Read 23345 times)

lendusaquid

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2008, 09:24:10 AM »
The only problem i have had with using a head gasket lots of times is that it has become rather squashed and i have needed to add more paper gaskets under the cylinder to get bump clearance correct.Hardly a major problem thou.I have been meaning to make a solid copper head gasket as an experiment.Annealed and sprayed at each time of use.Also has anyone reused those new silicon head gaskets?.

sailawayrb

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #16 on: December 04, 2008, 10:39:49 PM »
The gasket-to-go head gaskets for the 6/1 are wonderful...higher quality, lower price, and very likely won't weep coolant or pass combustion gas over any range of liner protrusion one might reasonably encounter even considering India Listeroid quality standards. I don't see any reason to mess with the Indian stock gaskets. We probably should purchase lots of them from gasket-to-go and do a group buy/distribution.

http://www.gasketstogo.com/Listeroid.htm

Stan

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #17 on: December 04, 2008, 11:06:12 PM »
I have the gasket to go gaskets for my 6/1 and they look superb in quality.  Haven't run her yet so can't vouch for a field trial test but the quality is great.
Stan

lendusaquid

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #18 on: December 05, 2008, 11:48:06 PM »
But can they be reused?

Stan

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #19 on: December 06, 2008, 02:33:49 AM »
I wouldn't.  They are cheap enough and unless you are experimenting and tearing it down constantly, won't be needing a new one until the 1000 hours decoking time.

Stan

mike90045

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #20 on: December 14, 2014, 09:40:01 PM »
Arghh !!   The head gasket is leaking (very tiny seep) compression.  Still starts.

my spare genset is in the shop (bastard crossbreed of Robin/Subaru/Hatz) with 68 hz & 260V   >:(

So the big question is, can I let it go till the weather breaks in the spring ?  Will it cause head erosion that I will regret ?

No coolant or oil leak that I can see.  Crankcase is OK, no foamy antifreeze in it.

It has a G2G gasket on it already, on a freshly surfaced head, and the cylinder & sleeve seemed OK before.  Just order a new head gasket and slap it in ?

dieselgman

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #21 on: December 14, 2014, 10:15:03 PM »
Coppercoat sealant works wonders for a copper head gasket. The composition gaskets might be fine for the water jacket but any compression leak is coming past the steel ring portion of gasket - not advisable to allow to progress further. What are your head bolts torqued at? Your other questions could be guessed at with some additional information - such as, how much do you expect to run the machine and how much of a load is it normally under?

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xyzer

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #22 on: December 15, 2014, 12:20:14 AM »
Even the best gasket will seep coolant if you have to much liner protrusion. Personally I would not reuse a head gasket unless I had to.
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BruceM

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2014, 12:45:50 AM »
+1 On checking the liner protrusion.  It's he leading cause of head gasket leaks, though MUCH more likely coolant than fire ring. The protruding liner will prevent adequate pressure on the gasket around the coolant passages.

You might also check your head for flatness. My cylinder and head both needed flattening badly.  

My head/cylinder flattening tool was 2 sheets of 80 grit sandpaper spray contact cement glued to a piece of plate glass on foam drawer liner on a flat cast iron table saw top. Lots of elbow grease needed to move the head in an orbital manner but it works nicely and it is easy to see your progress visually.  The cylinder was easier as there is less surface area.  I used a large hand file for the liner protrusion, followed by a light disk sander for "finish" of the liner lip. I used a feeler gauge next to the liner lip to feel the relative height.  It solved my short head gasket life problem nicely.

The factory (Rajkot) head gasket works better for excessive liner protrusion and for uneven head/cylinder fit.  There is much more crush.  The asbestos must be soaked with Permatex Aviation Gasket Maker diluted with alcohol to prevent coolant seepage. I have reused them with the copper paint with reasonable service life. (1000 hrs).  The Gaskets to Go gasket will work fine once you flatten the head/cylinder.  The gaskets sold on ebay are not a great fit- they are for the 7 bolt Listers, not the 5 bolt hole Listeroids, and the water passages aren't a great match.







« Last Edit: December 15, 2014, 12:51:55 AM by BruceM »

Tom

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #24 on: December 15, 2014, 02:09:46 AM »
Hi Mike, just want to be sure we understand what you're seeing. First is this a compression or coolant leak? If it's compression how did you determine that's what it is?

My first Listeroid had a compression leak for the first 5 years of use. Small bubbles could be seen coming out the top coolant hose into the tank every few min. Liner protrusion showed correct, but when looking at the face of the head it could be seen that one side had a lot more compression of the gasket than the other. Bill Binns pointed this out. What I eventually discovered was that the ledge where the liner seated in the cylinder was not cut square to the face of the cylinder. Eventually the failure mode was that water leaked into the cylinder and corroded a streak in the liner. The external symptom was lots of blow by out the valve on the crankcase.

It just so happens that when the new cylinder was ordered for my engine I also ordered a spare liner. Well the liner came with a cylinder attached. I doubt that I'll ever use that spare cylinder so if you need it let me know. All the measurements to determine the exact problem were done with a cheap set of Harbor Freight digital calipers.

Let us know what's needed.
Tom
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mike90045

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #25 on: December 16, 2014, 12:07:33 AM »
It's a compression leak.  I can see a tiny bubble at the edge of the head gasket, each time the engine fires.  Coolant seems fine, crankcase seems fine, no mixing of those two.   So I'm pretty sure it's the tiniest bit of the "kaboom" showing up at the edge of the head. 
If I'd not slimmed the head with an over zealous shot of oil, it would not have run down onto the gasket and shown me the bubble.

So I'm hoping I can safely ignore it, as long as I supply coolant (I'm boiling off about a half gallon a day) and the crankcase stays free of coolant.

And then I've discovered the layer of dry fluffy carbon at the exhaust deflector.  Normal ?

BruceM

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #26 on: December 16, 2014, 03:12:16 AM »
Better replace that head gasket right away for a fire ring leak.
+1 on dieselgman's comment re: checking head bolts torque.

Very suspicious to have that happen at 80hrs of run time unless the head wasn't torqued down after some run time.  I've noticed quite a bit of compression of the stock gaskets after a couple hot/cold cycles and a few hours of running, it needs to be re-torqued.


Tom

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #27 on: December 16, 2014, 05:26:16 PM »
That's an unusual presentation for a head gasket leak, but on Listeroids anything is possible. The suggested retorque is a good idea. It's about impossible to get coolant and oil to mix on a Listeroid as there is no oil flow from the head to the crankcase. The bottom of the cylinder is o ring sealed so the only possible source of coolant in the oil is past the head bolt threads. All this assumes nothing has frozen and cracked.

As to the fluffy soot, pull the injector and flip it over, connect the IP and crank the engine. You should see a nice even pattern and have a nice sharp klink sound when it squirts. A bad injector could make excessive heat too. I've got an injector testor, but it's never been used and it needs a good cleanup so it doesn't contaminate a good injector. I've got a couple of spare injectors, but the last good one is in use right now. I do have parts to rebuild them if you're stuck and need one pronto.
Tom
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mike90045

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #28 on: December 21, 2014, 04:12:45 PM »
Got a couple sunny days coming up (I hope)   So to re-torque the head, it's loosen the bolts 1 at a time, and re-tighten, or take them all loose (just half a turn ?) and then zig-zag around the head tightening them up again ?  (Which means pulling the rockers and re-doing the valve lash afterwards to get to 2 of the head nuts)  Do it while ice cold  ?  Warm ? Toasty hot ?

And the carbon, the exhaust looks to be burning nice and clear, but I'm seeing fluffy buildup outside the muffler.   If I pull the injector, do I have to replace the copper washer, and is NAPA auto parts likely to have one that will fit ?
 

Tom

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Re: Reuse head gasket ??
« Reply #29 on: December 21, 2014, 10:54:22 PM »
I've reused the copper washer dozens of times while messing with low grade alternative fuels. Just go to each nut, while cold and loosen 1/2 turn and re-torque. The valve lash won't change enough to worry about from re-torquing the head. In fact I run mine both at .010" just cause I don't like to listen to the clatter.

How many hours are on your engine now and how many kw are you pulling when fully loaded. What's your EGT at full load?
Tom
2004 Ashwamegh 6/1 #217 - ST5 just over 3k hours.