Another Head Gasket Question

[73EB]

90 300zx N/A Stock. Is it satisfactory to use aftermarket head gaskets? Which brands are ok? I'm spending money I don't have so need the best value posible. But with that said I know my old Toyota 4 Runner had to have OEM head gaskets or they would blow in a short period. Thanks
Jeff

[CrazedZ32Owner]

look up Z1's inventory i beleive they have the metal head gaskets... or try CZP

www.z1motorsports.com

www.ConceptZperformance.com

[vulcanrush]

oem is the best. metal head gaskets like cometic's, etc., you have to machine the heads to make sure they're nice and smooth.

oem is much more forgiving.

[es.biggs]

In my opinion, you should always have the heads resurfaced at a machine shop. There are a lot of factors...even the slightest warpage could cause the gasket to not seal right. The heads can even have a very slight groove in them from where the last gasket was seated. We are only talking about shaving a couple thousandths of an inch off of the head, but that couple thousandths will ensure that you have a good, even compressions against that gasket throughout the entire mating surface. You want a nice clean, perfect, flat surface for the new gasket to seat against.

I have Beck/Arnley head gaskets on my car right now. They were identical to the OEM gaskets I removed, they even had a very tiny Nissan logo on one part lol. I have almost 4,000 miles on these gaskets...I'm not concerned about it at all. Beck Arnley makes lots of OEM products that other manufacturers use, so their quality is top notch. If you are going for a less expensive alternative, I would choose that one.

The most important part about it is doing the job right - get the heads resurfaced, clean the old gasket material off of the block thoroughly (I used a whiz wheel), use new head bolts, and STRICTLY follow the procedure in the Nissan service manual. Make sure you use a torque wrench that is accurate, not the old rusted one that's been thrown and dropped all over the place.

Make sure you get a good quality hex socket to tighten and loosen the bolts too - they are put under a lot of torque and you don't want the socket to break on you because that is no fun!

You need one of these, it's a hex socket - 10 mm size:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

I'm not saying buy that one, because snap on is usually overpriced and $25 is insane for a hex socket, but I wanted to show you the type of socket you would need. Just get a trusted brand. I have a set that was like $50 or so from some parts store...it is made by Gearwrench and it's held up great under a lot of use. I used the 10mm from that set for my heads.

[73EB]

Ok, thanks guys. I have cleaned the block, and the head is already being resurfaced.

[xclusivez32]

i used oem ones from z1 with the heads resurfaced and new stock head bolts. Do you have the factory service manual? When torquing the heads down there is a certain way it has to be done.

[73EB]

i used oem ones from z1 with the heads resurfaced and new stock head bolts. Do you have the factory service manual? When torquing the heads down there is a certain way it has to be done.

I have access to the online FSM on here. Won't that work?