Hey , just replacing the head gasket on my 22re , the gasket i've bought doesn't seem to have holes for some of the water jackets , the ones between the bolt holes and the cylinder , this seems odd to me, could you just drill some of them out? i've noticed on a few other threads regarding head gasket replacement that they also don't have the holes, why would this be? is there a reason to not have the coolant flow through from head to block?
thanks

 

i believe there like that for a reason, mine is like that also.. not sure why though lol.

maybe it slows the water down so it can transfer heat into the water better.

 

Idk why its like that but i noticed that when i did my HG's the three 22r's i've done still run fine no overheating or lubrication issues.

 

i've looked online at a bunch of different pictures, some have the holes there some don't , the last one i replaced didn't have them and its still running fine , not to worried just thought i would see if anyone knew what the purpose was
thanks

 

Theres a difference in head gaskets between 1984 and 1985 22r/re motors. one year has the holes and the other one doesnt.