Has anyone checked the alignment of the coolant passages between the head and the cylinder block? I had some coolant leaks under the head so I took the head off to check and or replace the gasket.
The first thing I noticed was that the gasket does not line up well with the head or the cylinder block.
I had heard that Gaskets To Go makes custom gaskets that could be made with large enough holes to accommodate the the minor differences in the gasket so the passages would be clear. I traced the cylinder block and head then laid the tracings on top of each
other. I highlighted the passage misalignment in black.
I was shocked to find that 4 of the holes are about 50% or more blocked because the coolant passages do not line up between the head and cylinder block. Making a custom gasket won't help.
I looked at the possibility of using a die grinder on the cylinder block and the head but I am concerned I may structurally impair the either piece or cause additional leaks.
Has anyone else seen this?
Why don't the head and the cylinder block coolant passages have the same shape and oriented so the line up better? Do I have a part mismatch between the head and the cylinder block?