Thread: steel shim head gaskets

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Yes everything should have been done right.The heads are brand new dart iron eagle platinums.I have replaced them with fel pro stock gaskets but have yet to crank it due to autoparts store being out of the intake gasket i need.I hope this doesnt turn out to be something major,but thats how it usually goes.

I asked my machinist about the steel shim head gaskets and he said he wouldn't use them unless the heads and block mating surfaces had been decked to be sure they are perfect. If only one of the two had been done then he said he would not recommend them. He also told me that if I do use them to spray them with a copper spray(?). A couple coats for sure. The factory uses them on NEW castings sure, but on an engine that has seen a few thousand heat cycles then they are not a simple substitute head gasket. In one of David Vizards books he also does not recommend the steel shim gasket in a rebuild. I think it is the leaking of coolant that turns people off.