Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

I have an aluminum r16 head that is in very good condition. Measures 3.244" machinist says about .015" to clean it up. This is below the 3.246" minimun thickness spec. Are thicker head gaskets available? TIA Pat

Have you asked if it can be flattened? the thick head gaskets are not currently available to my knowledge.

There are still companies that will custom make them, even for small 1 or 2 gasket orders. Came across one a while back that did a custom set for an old Duesenberg, so anything is possible.

spl310 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:35 pm Have you asked if it can be flattened? the thick head gaskets are not currently available to my knowledge.

The .015" amount was to "flatten" and clean up surface. Machinist informed me that he knew of a company that makes shims to add to a standard head gasket. Just tryin to find out if a thicker head gasket was already availale. Thanks Pat

No, you misunderstand. There are cylinder head specialists that will bake the head and put it in a press to actually flatten it rather than cutting it flat. It will likely need a very light cut after to make it true, but it shouldn't need that much.

If the cut head fails the bump test the combustion chambers can be reprofiled to fit the piston dome. I have done several with good results.

Check out these guys, I've successfully used their products...

http://www.headgasket.com/gaskets.html

Here is their list for Japanese vehicles, taken from their Gasket Archive PDF...

Japan
DATSUN 1600 _ DAT. 2000 _ DAT. 570 _ DAT. A15 _ DAT. CA20 _ DAT. L 18 _ DAT. L 20 _ DAT. L 26
_ DAT. L 28 _ NISSAN E 16 _ NISS CA 20 _ NISS FJ 20 _ NISS KA 24DE _ NISS KA 24E _ NISS
RBB 20DET _ NISS SR 20 DET _ NISS VG 30 PRE-87 _ NISS VG 30 POST-88 _ NISS VG 30 DETT _
NISS VQ 30 DE _ MAZDA G 63B _ MAZ 2.2 _ MAZ GLC _ MAZ MIATA 1.6 _ MAZ MIATA 1.8 _ MAZ
MXG 4CYL _ MAZ MXG –V6 _ MITSUBISHI 6G72 _ MIT G 54 _ MIT MVEC _ MIT ECLIPSE _ MIT
TIBURON _ SURBRU EJ22 _ SUBRURU EA82 _ SUZUKI SWIFT _ TOYOTA 2JZ _ TOY SJZB _ TOY
3SGTE _ 4AFE _ 4AG 20 _ 4EFTE _ 4K _ 5SFE _ 5K _ 5MGTE _ 5VZ _ 6 VDI _ 7M GTE _ 7MGE _ 22R
_ LEXUS LS300 _ 6C _ V8 _ HONDA 94-97 ACCORD _ 98-2000 ACCORD _ 94-97 F22A _ 98-2000
F22A _ F23A _ GSR _ H15 _ HD16 _ H22A _ H22A4 _H23A _HB20 _HB21 _ HONDA NVTEC 92-96 _
VTEC 92-96 _ INTEGRA B16A _ B17A _ B18B _ B18C _


Mike

It's not a great solution , I'll admit ,but you can double head gaskets with aviation sealer between them
or shim it if the deck is machined perfect flat ( at uhaul they did this no sealer and it worked many times )
Make sure your oil stays clean

spl310 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 9:11 am No, you misunderstand. There are cylinder head specialists that will bake the head and put it in a press to actually flatten it rather than cutting it flat. It will likely need a very light cut after to make it true, but it shouldn't need that much.

Thanks for that info.

Hello Pat-

We bought the car and it arrived with a blown head gasket. The head was really shaved so I used a double thick gasket which was $200+ at the time. Six years later the gasket gave way again and I was able to find another head in great condition. The machine shop resurfaced and reconditioned it for less than the cost of the double gasket and now I can use Ted's $20 gaskets. Just an idea.