Correct head gasket?
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On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2018
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Correct head gasket? I have a 96 LT1 stock alum. head Camaro motor. What are the correct head gaskets for it? I see there are various different thicknesses that can either increase or decrease compression ratio.
I bought a Fel Pro full gasket set (going to do all gaskets while motor is out) and now I'm not sure they are the correct head gaskets. I certainly don't want to drop my CR.
I bought a Fel Pro full gasket set (going to do all gaskets while motor is out) and now I'm not sure they are the correct head gaskets. I certainly don't want to drop my CR.
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On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Little Rock, AR
Believe the 1074 are slightly thinner which might bump compression up a little.
Whatever you go with just make sure you use high temp thread sealant on the head bolts. I grabbed some arp head bolts also when I did mine.
Whatever you go with just make sure you use high temp thread sealant on the head bolts. I grabbed some arp head bolts also when I did mine.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2018
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what thread sealant would you recommend? Are there any blind holes? I am chasing threads now with a ground down bolt
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Brett Foote Lol.. i’ve used gasket sealant before. Just as long as it’s goop that doesn’t become ridged and will plug holes it should work just fine.
Last edited by SS RRR; Mar 13, 2022 at 10:39 AM.
Agreed, anything to plug a few bolt threads should do the trick. I just really like the new big bad HT thread sealant.
I see some ppl completely forget to use any sealant on head bolts and wonder why coolant is filling up on top of the heads!! That would suck so bad to do all that work and have to tear it down again!
I see some ppl completely forget to use any sealant on head bolts and wonder why coolant is filling up on top of the heads!! That would suck so bad to do all that work and have to tear it down again!
Agreed, anything to plug a few bolt threads should do the trick. I just really like the new big bad HT thread sealant.
I see some ppl completely forget to use any sealant on head bolts and wonder why coolant is filling up on top of the heads!! That would suck so bad to do all that work and have to tear it down again!
I see some ppl completely forget to use any sealant on head bolts and wonder why coolant is filling up on top of the heads!! That would suck so bad to do all that work and have to tear it down again!
I’ve seen it. I use the Permatex Aviation thread sealer for those. Round bottle with a brush, brown, Kinda smells like fermented bananas…
I think I actually did use a little HT thread sealer on the intake bolts just to be safe. The motor has about 35k since the rebuild and no leaks.
I also just bought a 97 Suburban with the 5.7 vortec and did a intake gasket in February, I also used arp bolts and lots of sealant with those since the vortec intake actually flows coolant. I did a nice thick bead of the ultra copper RTV on the china walls just to be different.
I tend to use lots of sealers and a tad too much RTV with my rebuilds but everything is still running like a swiss watch lol.
I also just bought a 97 Suburban with the 5.7 vortec and did a intake gasket in February, I also used arp bolts and lots of sealant with those since the vortec intake actually flows coolant. I did a nice thick bead of the ultra copper RTV on the china walls just to be different.
I tend to use lots of sealers and a tad too much RTV with my rebuilds but everything is still running like a swiss watch lol.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 163
Likes: 2
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 163
Likes: 2
Also, thoughts on stainless hardware for intake manifold (going into aluminum heads) i have had issues in the past with stainless hardware galling aluminum threads (motorcycles mostly) would the thread sealer protect it from doing this??
OE style bolts have been working well for years for many rebuilds. No reason why they wouldn't work, either. Most of us that get deep into the mods just go for ARP bolts and worry with what to put on them, lol. Those bolts i believe are 3-stage torque to value, as opposed to the torque to yield (tighten to x lb. ft and add x * torque angle). I'm not sure if what the paper says is they can be used as TTY or not, but I'd torque as if they were pre-TTY era and go 30-50-70 o whatever final torque value the pre-1996 model year service manual calls for.
As for stainless on aluminum, thread sealer would definitely stave off any galling, though I've never personally had an issue with it.
As for stainless on aluminum, thread sealer would definitely stave off any galling, though I've never personally had an issue with it.