Head gasket brand preference?

[maxfax]

IIRC  Fel-Pro gaskets for these are nothing more than repackaged Elring gaskets..

Not sure where Beck-Arnley stuff comes from, but the price says a lot...

[vanagonturbo]

IIRC  Fel-Pro gaskets for these are nothing more than repackaged Elring gaskets..

No. Not even remotely.

[maxfax]

IIRC  Fel-Pro gaskets for these are nothing more than repackaged Elring gaskets..

No. Not even remotely.

You are correct, they are Goetze..  At least they used to be as the stock I have are older..  Gasket is shrink wrapped in Goetze plastic, then shrink wrapped again to a piece of Fel Pro card board...

[vanagonturbo]

This may ONLY apply to the headgasket itself. I personally have never seen a Felfail gasket with Goetze wrapping, but I am not arguing that its not possible. I have seen many other Felfail gaskets that are not even close to Elring, reinz, Goetze, or any other OEM. Of course the subject at hand is head gasket, so I give you this round.

[maxfax]

Yes, I have only ever seen this with head gaskets..  And diving a little further into this and checking numbers, seems they are all for either 1.5's or early 11mm 1.6's..  Come to think of it, any fel-pro HG's I've seen for later engines are not packaged this way..   Let's call it a draw....   

[Vanagoner]

The 2 HG's for my 12mm 1.6 that I ordered as Felpro came packaged that way too.  One was Reinz, the other Goetze.  Now I could have gone to the very fine German specialty parts store, where the music of "Die Gotterdammerung" is playing and the countermen wear lederhosen.  However that experience would have cost me twice as much, and I just wanted a headgasket.  How gauche.  Oops, sorry, wrong country.  Merde!

[southernman]

Guys, this is a good thread, and there was a question asked that I would like to hear a response from others, if you've experience with it.

Does anyone run an MLS gasket on their diesel ? I know it's the gasket of choice for Cummins engines, but the surfaces must be super flat and have a > 50RA finish in order for them to work.

Again, has anybody tried running them yet, or are they just overkill ?

D

[MJF]

Most 1,9's came with MLS. Reinz is the best MLS gasket.

[silentdub]

Swapping a gasket and I see either Elring Klinger or Victor Rienz, offered.  They're about the same price, so I'm just looking for feedback, if there's something about one of them that should steer me away.  Both that I see are fiber.

CR block with 11mm bolts being upgraded to studs.  It's a 2 notch if that means anything.  I've used many of the Victor Rienz in the past, but they were always gassers.

BTW, is there any solvent that'll safely soften all the carbon and crap on the gasket mating surfaces?  I used a red and blue Roloc on the block, but I'm not sure if I want to do that to the head.

-Todd

Hey Todd, I haven't spoken to you in a while. Good to see you are still knee deep in dubs.

If you ar having some trouble with the gasket seating, you could use that spray can copper adhesive, it works wonders when the head or block is too smooth. It is made for head gaskets. I have used it on several motors and it works very well.

Also be sure to seal the head bolt threads.

[theman53]

Guys, this is a good thread, and there was a question asked that I would like to hear a response from others, if you've experience with it.

Does anyone run an MLS gasket on their diesel ? I know it's the gasket of choice for Cummins engines, but the surfaces must be super flat and have a > 50RA finish in order for them to work.

Again, has anybody tried running them yet, or are they just overkill ?

D

Check out my build thread for the use of MLS on a Mech block. Saurkrat also had some. MJF was Audi 80 *I THink* and he was the one that started using them on a Mech block years ago. Easy as bolting one up to a hydro block.

[southernman]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Again, great thread !

[ToddA1]

Hey Todd, I haven't spoken to you in a while. Good to see you are still knee deep in dubs.

If you ar having some trouble with the gasket seating, you could use that spray can copper adhesive, it works wonders when the head or block is too smooth. It is made for head gaskets. I have used it on several motors and it works very well.

Also be sure to seal the head bolt threads.

Yeah, still screwing around with them.  Just picked up a TDI, and in less than 30 days of ownership, the CEL came on..... good stuff.  I'm guessing it's something with the pump timing.  The car will belch black smoke when under load.

Anyhow, I Hylomared the head gasket and used ARP undercut studs.  I don't see myself having an issue. 

-Todd

[TurboJ]

The people with the most powerful IDI engines all use Victor Reinz, and Victor Reinz only. Talking about +300 hp 1.9D engines. Just thought you should know.