Deck pitting, epoxy/seal it or run it as is.
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From: Richmond Hill, GA
Deck pitting, epoxy/seal it or run it as is. Leaning towards running it as is with new MLS gaskets (with copper spray).
I noticed some minor oil residue and gasket pieces in the coolant, so I knew I had to tear the heads down. Clearly the head gasket had failed prior to me owning it. Motor runs/ran good and deck is good other then the pitting around this coolant jacket.
Here it is a little cleaned up, you can see the pitting a little better.
The good news is the new MLS gaskets seal off this port entirely versus the pass through on the graphite, and the pitting is outside the fire ring, so it isnt really critical. Garbage graphite gaskets, lol.
It's going back together later tonight, debating on epoxying the pits, or just throwing it together with copper spray as is.
What does tech think?
^ How that area seals with the MLS gasket.
I noticed some minor oil residue and gasket pieces in the coolant, so I knew I had to tear the heads down. Clearly the head gasket had failed prior to me owning it. Motor runs/ran good and deck is good other then the pitting around this coolant jacket.
Here it is a little cleaned up, you can see the pitting a little better.
The good news is the new MLS gaskets seal off this port entirely versus the pass through on the graphite, and the pitting is outside the fire ring, so it isnt really critical. Garbage graphite gaskets, lol.
It's going back together later tonight, debating on epoxying the pits, or just throwing it together with copper spray as is.
What does tech think?^ How that area seals with the MLS gasket.
I've done plenty of motors with the same problem using nothing but a new gasket, as you already noticed the pitting is inside of the actual sealing surface. Copper seal is fine that i'm aware of, but i'm 100% it's good without it. If it were mine I would just assemble it as is, just using the new gasket. I like to let seals do their job where possible, I don't like introducing more variables if I can avoid it, for example I don't put RTV on a gasket unless absolutely necessary.
Edit, copper seal won't seal pits that big anyway, it would work for very very shallow grooves or pitting, but we're talking probably less than a thousandths of an inch.
If you have a few extra bucks get the heads decked to help ensure the best possible seal, if you haven't already.
Edit, copper seal won't seal pits that big anyway, it would work for very very shallow grooves or pitting, but we're talking probably less than a thousandths of an inch.
If you have a few extra bucks get the heads decked to help ensure the best possible seal, if you haven't already.
Personally, if I were to spray the gasket I would use Hylomar spray. It won't do anything for the big pits but there a quite a few smaller ones as well.
Last edited by vettenuts; Apr 8, 2016 at 06:24 AM.
Sounds like you're good to go man. I've never used hylomar as Vettenuts recommended so I can't speak to that. Either way you decide to go you should be golden.
For what it's worth, I always get overly concerned about pitting, happens every time, never had a problem from them though.
For what it's worth, I always get overly concerned about pitting, happens every time, never had a problem from them though.
Thread Starter
10 Second Club
iTrader: (18)
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 3,869
Likes: 60
From: Richmond Hill, GA
FWIW I just threw it back together. If any issues pop up I'll make sure to post in here. Not expecting any. Drivers side deck looks normal, though that HG had also started to fail
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