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83Blzr62
12-19-2006, 13:39
I found some small scratches on one head and a small one on the block. I have pics below. Will the head gaskets be fine with these scratches? Is there a way to repair them?
thanks,
Kyle
DmaxMaverick
12-19-2006, 13:49
Scratches are no big deal, just make sure they're not cracks. Your machinist will be able to you what depth is allowable before taking action. The heads and block can be milled, and you will have to make other accomodations if so. It is hard to tell by your pics, but many defects may be benign, meaning it won't make a difference due to the location, and may have been there from manufacture. It would be easier to tell you with a larger pic (the whole head and deck), with the locations marked. I could guess now, but it would be a guess.
john8662
12-19-2006, 15:49
The only one that I'd worry about is the one on the cylinder head. I can't make out exactly where it's at on the head from that picture, you'd have to back out of the image a bit for me to see.

Anyways, the one on the block will be ok. The only thing that can leak there is coolant into the block through the lifter access area. Luckily the threads of all the head bolts are coated with sealant. The gasket will likely seal that area anyways. A gasket is usually good to seal ~.003" of irregularity.

I have a place on a 6.5 I'm building that looks similar, only way to fix is to deck it. If you desk it you'll get to compensate for the material missing by a thicker head gasket or topping the pistons, adjusting rod length, etc. Can be a real PITA. The only real places I'd worry about sealing are areas where the fire ring on the head gasket seals, those need to be knick free etc.
83Blzr62
12-19-2006, 17:56
The first picture might be where the firing ring is I will check that this weekend. These have already been machined and I think that they came like that from the machine shop, so they must be alright. I just wanted to double check. OK thanks for the replies.
Kyle
83Blzr62
12-22-2006, 15:28
Well I had to get the head with the bad scratch resurfaced, so I got them both done because the ohter one had some surface rust and a small scratch. This time they were different though. The surface is rough because they say it helps the head gaskets stick and cleans up sharp edges. Oh well I will have to use them now. I will post pictures later tonight or tommorrow.