Hylomar non-setting on mls

[turbohf]

from the pictures it seems that the deck is a little rough for a MLS gasket. when you had it machined did you tell them you where going to be using an MLS gasket? with a fresh machined block and head a viton coated (like OEM or Cometic) MLS headgasket should have no problems at all being thrown on with a clean surface.

really adding a layer of Hondabond/Mopar/copperspray/whatever is just for the paranoid or the ones that are trying to hide an imperfect surface.


on my Galant when i put the 2.4L in it i just cleaned the block surface (brake clean and red scotchbrite), threw a virgin Cometic headgasket down, and topped it off with my fresh cleaned off machined head (for MLS).

 

[turbohf]

i just took another close up look of the surface you posted. do those scratch looking marks catch your finger nail? or does it feel smooth? i have never machined an iron block/head, just aluminum. and those always seem to look super smooth when machined for MLS gaskets.

 

[tektic]

Between holes 2 and 3 is the only rough patch. I can catch my finger nail in a few of those tooling marks. some are deeper than others. The rest of the surface is super smooth and so is the head.

 

[donniekak]

click

click

 

[diambo4life]

That is interesting. I hate to change what I have always done since it has worked....but, when I have the head off next week, I may try it dry.

 

[presterone]

Copper spray contains acetone which eats the sealant on the factory gasket. If you were to remove the sealant by Cleaning it and then sprayed with hylomar or copper in theory should work well.

 

[tektic]

Do you clean the gaskets before you install them? If so with what?

I have seen some other mls gaskets for different applications that are coated entirely with a blue film that shouldn't be tampered with or wiped with solvent. I know that's not the case here but it would be nice to know how to prep a factory mls. I was planning to just wipe the steel shim part of both surfaces with acetone, not the black goo.

 

[turbohf]

i try to go all surgical and make sure my hands are not touching the gasket surface at all. hold it in the bores and edges. they come out the wrapping clean, so just make sure not to touch it.

 

[tektic]

Ran across this old post and figured I'd up date it.

I assembled my MLS dry after cleaning everything with microfiber and alcohol. 600 miles later compression is still fine, however after the second startup oil presented itself from the front left corner of the headgasket.

Ill be using additional sealant next time.