Re: [alfa] How (not) to install a Reinz head gasket

[Richard Lane <srlane@xxxxxxxxx>]

Lyford Hale said...
"The other car belongs to a friend.  We got our Reinz head gaskets from
different places, neither of which told us to use sealant"

Then "Dean" <tessiedog@domain.elided> said...
"If you use a genuine head gasket you do not need any selant. If you require
selant for a head gasket something is wrong. Genuine gaskets dont fail for a
long time and I have never ever used a sealing compound"

I'm the friend Lyford mentions above. Sorry Dean but this old chestnut about
the genuine head gaskets not leading sealant simply no longer applies. They
should come with a large "Beware" sticker on the packet. 

Lyford and I both used genuine OEM Reintz head gaskets. These come manufactured
with a bead of black sealant that runs around the entire perimeter of the
gasket and also around the 6 small o-ring holes down the sides - However, at
the large oil-drain holes at the rear of the block, there is no sealant around
the inside where there is a need to seal out water around the liners from these
oil drain holes. This is simply incorrect and is a gasket manufacturing error.
I'm told it's because the later engines didn't have any oil drains there (i've
never seen one apart so cannot confirm) and so the gaskets sold as OEM for a
'74 2L motore are really made to suit the later blocks. This has been confirmed
to me by various local experts who all say they've seen a few that sealed ok
but a lot more that failed immediately (as mine and Lyford's did). 

The one supplier who seems to get it is John Norman (and his extremely
experienced head-modifier and all around expert Dan Marvin). John (of
Alfa-Parts) now attaches a diagram to all the gaskets showing where to apply
the sealant. A couple of weeks back Tom Sahines (ARA tech-advisor) also warned
right here on the Digest about this mistake on the gaskets. Use Permatex
Ultra-Grey on both sides of the gasket around these oil drains and assemble and
torque quickly....

So after two head gaskets in a week (and these "genuine" Reintz ones don't come
cheap) I now seem to have water and oil separated - and that's a good thing.

Richard Lane
San Jose, CA
1967 GTV with a 2L
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