Gen Head Gasket is it okay to run

[laney487]

I have been told many things, my 94 has 31k on it..

original gaskets but no signs of weeping.. oil is great.. i was thinking id run it at least another year before i spent the money on gaskets and tore it down, it seems like a job i could do myself in a garage. Is this head gasket thing really that big of a deal? Would it cause a full engine rebuild or something if it just totally went out? my understanding is they just eventually start to weep onto the outside of the engine and burn up all your coolant. And I've heard everything from replace it now or just run them to problems start.. What is your concensus? My car gets driven every week at least a few times.. its not just a parked and sitting kind of car i changed the coolant out first thing when i got it last year and i constantly check fluids especially for 100 mile plus drives.. car lives in a low humidity dry area (west texas)

[dave6666]

You're asking a bunch of gear heads to:

* predict the future for you
* guess at how long your engine will last
* believe that TX is low humidity

Now while I don't disagree that procrastination can be okay, my suggestion is to balance your procrastination plan with a combination of reserved financial resources and parts inventory i.e. at least be prepared for if and when it does need the work. You can always sell any parts later if you don't end up needing them. And spend any reserved funds on strippers, midgets and whiskey.

[sirvelonodnarb]

* believe that TX is low humidity

West Texas is very dry. (:

[Ross L]

What a difference fifteen+ years makes. Can still read old forum posts from 2005,2006 threatening exile to any Gen 1 owner who questioned “not” changing the gaskets as “preventive maintenance” lol

[laney487]

i literally read all those ross about the gen 1 owners and arugments for changing and not changing it just mind boggles me because on any other car i wouldnt ever worry till the head gasket actually went out.. lol.. this car its like well should i just do it for the sake of doing it or not. haha

[Old School]

i literally read all those ross about the gen 1 owners and arugments for changing and not changing it just mind boggles me because on any other car i wouldnt ever worry till the head gasket actually went out.. lol.. this car its like well should i just do it for the sake of doing it or not. haha

Yeah, Chrysler had the same problem with the Neon, they switched to a MLS type gasket in '98.

[GTS Dean]

I agree with Dave. Head gaskets used to be pretty scarce, but availability is better now. Go ahead and procure a set of head, intake and exhaust gaskets now while they are available. You can decide when/if you want to have them installed. Valve cover and oil pan gaskets last a long time, but Gen 1's are not as good as later models.

[RCR88]

Are we talking midget strippers or regular size strippers? If regular size strippers what are the midgets for?

[Cost4133]

Are we talking midget strippers or regular size strippers? If regular size strippers what are the midgets for?

Serving the whiskey... or bowling


I agree with I would probably run it this year, change in the off season (although isnt texas off season the summer?) But i would definitely procure parts in case it fails early.

[Mbccenter]

Won't hurt to purchase the parts but old engine coolant is what was the issue with the head gaskets going bad. Keep that fresh and up to date and you should not have a issue.

[ssgsnake]

Change them out not worth the risk.

[Viper Specialty]

I have been told many things, my 94 has 31k on it..

original gaskets but no signs of weeping.. oil is great.. i was thinking id run it at least another year before i spent the money on gaskets and tore it down, it seems like a job i could do myself in a garage. Is this head gasket thing really that big of a deal? Would it cause a full engine rebuild or something if it just totally went out? my understanding is they just eventually start to weep onto the outside of the engine and burn up all your coolant. And I've heard everything from replace it now or just run them to problems start.. What is your concensus? My car gets driven every week at least a few times.. its not just a parked and sitting kind of car i changed the coolant out first thing when i got it last year and i constantly check fluids especially for 100 mile plus drives.. car lives in a low humidity dry area (west texas)

Consensus?

Dont delay.

The longer those POS gaskets are in, the more corrosion damage you have to contend with. Between HG seepage and timing cover gasket failures, both of which can lead to engine failure... its just not worth it. Why avoid the inevitable? Just will cost you more in the long run. Do the upgrade, clean everything up, and never worry about it again.

Having sold more of these gaskets than anyone else by a LONG stretch [We brought them to market], I can tell you how this story ends.

[laney487]

Dan is there a writeup somewhere on how to change the gaskets it looks like something maybe i could do in my own garage? Ive been looking havent seen a good write-up anywhere on it be nice to just be sure and do it all correctly the only that that scares me is the cylinder liners can i jack them up or something by accident or just straight forward pull it all off and torque it back on type of thing?

[Viper Specialty]

Dan is there a writeup somewhere on how to change the gaskets it looks like something maybe i could do in my own garage? Ive been looking havent seen a good write-up anywhere on it be nice to just be sure and do it all correctly the only that that scares me is the cylinder liners can i jack them up or something by accident or just straight forward pull it all off and torque it back on type of thing?

We regularly help customers with this process. Its relatively straight forward, and a few pointers go a long way towards having it come together nicely.

[Dan Cragin]

Ditto

[SNKEBIT]

Just like any other car, just do it. Not rocket science.

[dave6666]

Six to 12 beers per side, boom, done.

[laney487]

Dave thats how i built my supercharged l67 motor i think it was about 30 beers per side on a v6 though LOL

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Dan I'll be ordering a set soon ill call up there probably next month i might just knock it out after i go do the tail of the dragon run i guess

[Ross L]

I respect the opinions and knowledge base here but have a question. I have multiple older( older than 1995) vehicles. They all run a similar composite style headgasket(s). Do I treat them any different? No issues with any of them. Some have aluminum heads, some iron. Some I’ve “blown” ( turbocharged) and replaced with factory style gaskets, some still original. Always considered them more of a “fuse” on the turbocharged vehicles. I understand a car approaching 30 years of age on factory gaskets is on borrowed time….. but we were told this 20+ years ago as well for same car on same gaskets. What’s life expectancy on the MLS type gasket? IMO and respectfully curious.

[Viper Specialty]

I respect the opinions and knowledge base here but have a question. I have multiple older( older than 1995) vehicles. They all run a similar composite style headgasket(s). Do I treat them any different? No issues with any of them. Some have aluminum heads, some iron. Some I’ve “blown” ( turbocharged) and replaced with factory style gaskets, some still original. Always considered them more of a “fuse” on the turbocharged vehicles. I understand a car approaching 30 years of age on factory gaskets is on borrowed time….. but we were told this 20+ years ago as well for same car on same gaskets. What’s life expectancy on the MLS type gasket? IMO and respectfully curious.

I am Ass-U-Me'ing you are talking about vehicles other than Vipers.

-While composite gaskets have been known to be problematic on other vehicles as well, it is especially so in an aluminum block, aluminum head, wet sleeve configuration that is stored constantly and regularly almost overheats, ha.

-Using a head gasket as a "Fuse" is unequivocally a bad idea. Always. Quick way to pointlessly lose an engine.

-MLS gasket life is indefinite. There is nothing there that can degrade over time without an "induced" failure point.

[ViperSRT]

I respect the opinions and knowledge base here but have a question. I have multiple older( older than 1995) vehicles. They all run a similar composite style headgasket(s). Do I treat them any different? No issues with any of them. Some have aluminum heads, some iron. Some I’ve “blown” ( turbocharged) and replaced with factory style gaskets, some still original. Always considered them more of a “fuse” on the turbocharged vehicles. I understand a car approaching 30 years of age on factory gaskets is on borrowed time….. but we were told this 20+ years ago as well for same car on same gaskets. What’s life expectancy on the MLS type gasket? IMO and respectfully curious.

Ross, comparison to other composite head gaskets doesn't work in general. In the early 1990's manufacturers were required to be in compliance with new regulations for eliminating asbestos, including in head gaskets. The specific time for the change was dependent on many factors including new product introductions, etc. It was a very short window of time when gasket manufacturers tried these non asbestos based gasket solutions, which failed industry-wide in the 1993-1995 time period. Most were replaced with MLS gaskets by 1998 or so. Comparison to other years/manufacturers is futile unless you know if the composite gasket was asbestos free or not. I would expect most asbestos free gaskets have failed by now given the high failure rates noted at the time.

MLS as Dan mentioned is not time or mileage dependent. Materials used are not susceptible to material degradation. Micro sealing failure is possible as the coating used may wear off, but incidence rates are very low. Compression ring failure, related to your turbo fuse comment, is always possible if head lifting forces are high enough to unload the compression ring enough.

[Ross L]

Thanks for responses. I feel more educated at this point in my day than normal! The “fuse” comment was meant as an accidental overboost situation. Rather headgasket fail( not happening with mls gasket) than bearings or rod. Sometime lose focus and things happen before one can react fast enough. The viper is stock so forced induction comparisons are Irrelevant so sorry for that. Thanks again for the information! Greet group here!