Well, the title says it all. I'm in the process of rebuilding a 22RE and completely spaced putting in the two alignment studs for the head. I sprayed copper gasket sealer on the head gasket too. I don't have manifolds or anything on it yet and the engine is still on the stand.

Should I pull the head off and install the pins or just leave it be? If I do pull the head of should I buy another head gasket or just use the new head gasket that is in there so long as it doesn't tear apart?

The gasket is from an engnbldr kit.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

give engnbldr a call!

 

X2, then let us know what he said.

 

I was kind of hoping to get some work in on it today. Guess I'll probably have to wait.

 

if it were me, i'd pull her apart. you can have a mm or two of side slop when the head bolts are loose. once tightened is that enough misalignment to worry about the valves hitting pistons? this is an interference engine.
and i'd replace the HG. i can't imagine that once compressed you'll ever get it to seal correctly again unless maybe you overtorque. but listen to ted. i know there are some here that reuse a HG.

 

Yep ... problem is .. with out the alignment dowles , when you set the head in place , it wouldnt have been located properly .. so when torquing the head , it would have "PULLED" the head into the propper location .. possabally "scraping" / "warping" the gasket .


I would call er' toast .. but ya never know , you may have gotten lucky

.

 

... crap. Guess I'll pull 'er apart tonight and see what it looks like.

 

heres my 2 cents new gasket vs pulling head and redoing it in the truck, id go with a new gasket

 

I think the consideration should be what is the cost of fixing it right and what are the possible consequences.

I'd take it apart and replace the gasket.

 

The dowels are CRITICAL to head alignment as you already know by now. If you carefully remove the head you may be able to salvage the gasket. I see no problem reusing the gasket unless it was damaged during removal. BUT, do you want to take that chance? Replace it and accept it as a cost of doing business yourself since how often do you rebuild an engine. Stuff happens. Be thankful you caught it now.

 

I pulled the head about half an hour ago and spent several minutes scraping off portions of the gasket. Looks like I'm off to buy a new one this week. So... is there a trustworthy after market or do I go OEM?

Incidentally I'm no longer so sure the pins are as critical as everyone said. They fit snuggly into the block but I had definite wiggle in the head side of things. I don't know how things get once the engine is hot but cold I doubt they make much difference.

Oh, and I got an OEM head gasket from the stealership for $42.

 

Anyone have experience with these head gaskets?