O-ringing heads?
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From: Waterloo, Ontario
O-ringing heads? Are any of the hi-horsepower guys o-ringing the heads to help seal under "boost"? Also if ou are can you still use the factory MLS gasket? Thanks!
I o-ringed the heads...no receiver grooves in the block, but I use graphite fel-pro gaskets. I thought I read somehwere from either the ohio boys or y2khawk they ran mls and orings without an issue....cant imagine that thought...lol, actually..maybe I am imagining that!
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From: Breese, IL
I didn't o-ring the heads, but I used the SCE ICS Titan head gaskets. They have a steel wire embedded between two layers of copper that get clamped between the head and block mating surfaces and supposedly seal just as good as an o-ringed setup. They're doing crazy stuff with those head gaskets...
SCE enlisted the services of renowned engine builder Kenny Duttweiler to test this revolutionary head gasket. We mounted Duttweiler's personal twin turbocharged 286 cu in Small Block Chevrolet on the dyno and proceeded to thrash it in an attempt to test the limits of the new head gasket. Over a 2 week period we made 52 dyno pulls developing over 1833 hp at 9300 rpm with a peak boost of 43psi.
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Only thing that concerns me about that is doesn't the typical small block chvy have like 18 bolts to bolt the head to the block-compared to the 10 like on a LS1?
Originally Posted by Jammer
I o-ringed the heads...no receiver grooves in the block, but I use graphite fel-pro gaskets. I thought I read somehwere from either the ohio boys or y2khawk they ran mls and orings without an issue....cant imagine that thought...lol, actually..maybe I am imagining that!
O-ring in the head. Nothing in the block and GM MLS gaskets. Have no leaks and been to 28psi and 8.50's. I've ran that setup for a couple years now. Graphite gaskets don't hold up well to high HP and head lifting. Plus the clean up sucks.
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From: Waterloo, Ontario
Originally Posted by Roadie
I didn't o-ring the heads, but I used the SCE ICS Titan head gaskets. They have a steel wire embedded between two layers of copper that get clamped between the head and block mating surfaces and supposedly seal just as good as an o-ringed setup. They're doing crazy stuff with those head gaskets...
You know what bro-maybe I passed judgement too quick. i just read up on them and they seem pretty slick. Summit sells them for $200 a pair. I can't remember what o-ringing the head costs but this seems like areally good alternative. I remember back in my 5.0 days that we used to o-ring the heads all the time. So these gaskets don't require any sealer or anyhting? I also like the fact they come in a .050 thickness-it helps the quench abit too. I'm going to be pushing this little 347 pretty hard with a F1R.
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On The Tree
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From: Breese, IL
i've got a little old LT1... but the LS1 does have a lot more chance of lifting the heads. The design is really what seems to set itself apart from MLS types.
I've talked to a performance place 2 miles up the road whose motors are running in the 7s and 8s A builder there said that the headgaskets work good, but he has had coolant leaks from ones where he didn't use any sealant. They use copper spray when building and recommend throwing a bottle of alumaseal in the cooling system right away.
Those gaskets also require re-torquing the heads after the first heat cycle. It's a PITA to do, but you get an extra 1/2-2/3 turn out of them after a retorque, so you definitely don't want to skip that...
I've talked to a performance place 2 miles up the road whose motors are running in the 7s and 8s A builder there said that the headgaskets work good, but he has had coolant leaks from ones where he didn't use any sealant. They use copper spray when building and recommend throwing a bottle of alumaseal in the cooling system right away.
Those gaskets also require re-torquing the heads after the first heat cycle. It's a PITA to do, but you get an extra 1/2-2/3 turn out of them after a retorque, so you definitely don't want to skip that...
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I'm going oring, receiver groove, and copper. I'm sick of replacing head gaskets!!! I'm only able to run about 19 lbs before I start to push the gaskets out. I should have listened to LME and did it in the first place! They have it right now, wasted money on shipping! #$*$&*#^#(
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