felpro headgasket questions, please help (in middle of headswap)

[missionsix43]

Ok, so I got the felpro headgasket, but I am wondering why the hell it doesnt have all the proper "ports" on it

the old gasket, which was leaking from the cylinders into the coolant passages appeared to be the same way when new, but all the areas where there is indeed a coolant port, but no hole in the headgasket, were all pushed out and the headgasket was disenegrating...

pic of the gasket



what the head/block passages actually look like



is this the proper gasket or does the DE not have all those coolant ports?and it is an 8 port standard head

[missionsix43]

might as well fly to jah pan

i might get some input quicker

[rico05]

Some of those will be blocked off. Even the stock gasket does that. And for reference, I am running a Felpro as well. Have been for 10 boost filled months.

[missionsix43]

Some of those will be blocked off. Even the stock gasket does that. And for reference, I am running a Felpro as well. Have been for 10 boost filled months.

yeah the gasket that was in there was the same as the felpro.. why? what is the point of having connecting passages in the head and block and then block them off ?

also on the blocked passages the old gasket was coming apart from the coolant trying to get through

[float_6969]

This is still the same basic block as used in the CA18ET. I would assume that the single valve head had more coolant ports in it.

[missionsix43]

This is still the same basic block as used in the CA18ET. I would assume that the single valve head had more coolant ports in it.

what?

this is a better drawing, red indicates where there is a port, but no hole in the gasket, blue indicates a proper hole, but it is much smaller than the stock port



why does cyl 1 have all the proper ports, but nothing else does

[float_6969]

Have you looked at the head to see if there are matching ports to match the openings in the block?

[missionsix43]

Have you looked at the head to see if there are matching ports to match the openings in the block?

yes, i wish i had a camera, ill see if i can use my brothers when he goes home

my old gasket was leaking in the corners of the cyls into the coolant passages there, good stuff.

[nocwage]

The tomei one is IDENTICAL to that tooSo there must be a reason..

Right from the tomei webpage

[float_6969]

Ok, wait. Are you sure that's the 1st cylnder. Could it be the 4th? From what the FSM says, the coolant goes from the water pump, into the block, up to the head, and then out to the thermostat housing. If that was on 4th cylnder, then the water would be forced past all of the cylnders, up into the head, past all 4 combustion chamber and then into the thermostat housing.

[missionsix43]

Ok, wait. Are you sure that's the 1st cylnder. Could it be the 4th? From what the FSM says, the coolant goes from the water pump, into the block, up to the head, and then out to the thermostat housing. If that was on 4th cylnder, then the water would be forced past all of the cylnders, up into the head, past all 4 combustion chamber and then into the thermostat housing.

yes, 4th sorry,

makes no sense that the head/block have those extra ports if the coolant is supposed to bypass them.. sure the gasket "blocks" them, but like on my old gasket the coolant tried to get through and pretty much made its own holes in the gasket

[float_6969]

Paint FTW!!!



Does that help?

I don't know why the ports are there to be honest. Like I said before. Maybe it's got something to do with the older head? It would be much easier to make a different HG than to rebuild the castings for the block.

[missionsix43]

Paint FTW!!!



Does that help?

I don't know why the ports are there to be honest. Like I said before. Maybe it's got something to do with the older head? It would be much easier to make a different HG than to rebuild the castings for the block.

yeah i dont know, ill clean up the block and head tomorrow and put it together i guess.

[missionsix43]

alright, it is correct..

i dont see why nissan themselves didnt use a metal headgasket, even my n/a vw uses one



with the paper type gaskets, those blocked passages can be worn... ill take a pic of the old headgasket later if you dont quite understand what i mean

OH, one more question... how do i get new radiator hoses? do KA ones fit or what.. specifically the lower and upper radiator hoses

[float_6969]

Yea, I know what you're saying. IDK why they did that though. One of those things we'll just never know. Kinda like why people think SR's are so cool... Hehehe

[missionsix43]

Yea, I know what you're saying. IDK why they did that though. One of those things we'll just never know. Kinda like why people think SR's are so cool... Hehehe

yeah

"one more question... how do i get new radiator hoses? do KA ones fit or what.. specifically the lower and upper radiator hoses"

[float_6969]

Oops, sorry, I missed that. Yea, I've got S13 DOHC KA hoses on mine. You'll have to trim them a bit, but nothing major.

[missionsix43]

Oops, sorry, I missed that. Yea, I've got S13 DOHC KA hoses on mine. You'll have to trim them a bit, but nothing major.

thanks.

[rico05]

Or you can get Samco silicone ones for the CA on eBay or from Samco retailers. I plan to do this very soon. For now, I run clipped KA hoses.

[float_6969]

OOh, good call rico. Those samco hoses are a bit pricy, but VERY nice!

[sideways danny]

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...N.gif

to confirn what float said earlier the ET (8 valve) did use the ports

[missionsix43]

http://img.photobucket.com/alb...N.gif

to confirn what float said earlier the ET (8 valve) did use the ports

nice...

cheapasses, gasket doesnt work very well as a block off oh well, should be good for quite a while, car will be running tomorrow

[float_6969]

w00t! I'm cooler than I thought! And now to expound on my personal theory of why...

I would guess that when they originally cast it, they wanted as much coolant flow as possilbe, hence the numerous, large ports. The problem was that the coolant flow wasn't very well directed. The coolant is going to take the path of least resistance, so the coolant would pass out of the pump and into the cooling area of the first cylnder, because it had an easy path up into the head and then out to the radiator, it took it. The remaining cylnders would get some flow, but not nearly as much as the first.

By redesigning the HG to force the coolant to flow past all of the cylnders (for the most part) and THEN up into the head, the cooling was increased.

But now your next question is, "OK smart guy, why didn't they make the ports in the head match the new gasket?" Well I have a theory for that too. I believe the idea behind the larger-than-needed ports was to increase the contact area of the coolant around the combustion chamber.

So there ya go, that's my theory anyway.

[dash]

sometimes in situations where you have the same motor used in fwd & rwd applications, the water outlet may be at the opposite end of the head. I think the passages in the head gasket may be a way to regulate the flow of coolant to certain areas.When doing rwd 4g63 conversions, if you exited the coolant from the front of the head, these same type of 'gasket' flow modifications solved overheating problems.

[Bwana]

lol

[sideways danny]

the ET is terrible form blowing head gaskets, I think it might be a way of getting the coolant to the back of the head before it gets hot to avoid the same trouble on the DET. if in doubt use a metal gasket. ACL make a 1.3mm MLS gasket for the DET. cheaper and better than the cometic IMO

[float_6969]

Yea, they just recently started showing up in eBay....