Matty B Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 When I had a look a the old head gasket which came with my motor, the outer two cooling journals on each end of each head gasket were not cut out. Even though there are holes in both the heads and the engine body to correspond. The pressure has actually blown through the gaskets in 7 out of the 8 spots. My question is.. The engine is a dual port, do normal EA81's have these outer holes?? Should I cut holes in my new head gaskets if they arrive tommorrow without holes? I am in a tight spot here. Any suggestions gentlemen?? BTW Check out those Valves.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Interesting, I was wondering the same thing. Side note: How did you go about cleaning the mating suface of the head? did you get it that clean by hand or did you take it to a machine shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiemech85 Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 IF the holes were not there in the gasket, but "nature" put them there, then make them for the replacement a blue roloc will do wonders on aluminum brown for brakes, flywheels and pp green "sandpaper" for grinding rust it's a matter of tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty B Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 Machine shop...surface levelling grind. It seems they were a little busy to clean my valves and dip clean the heads. Service is a thing of the past. So is pride in work. I would NEVER send out a head with grease still stuck to it. So I would not reccommend anyone sending their heads to Hobart, Tasmania to get re-co'd As if anyone would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallyruss Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 no dont cut holes in the gasket. they design them that way on purpose. you will mess up the coolant flow. oh yeah nice view. When I had a look a the old head gasket which came with my motor, the outer two cooling journals on each end of each head gasket were not cut out. Even though there are holes in both the heads and the engine body to correspond. The pressure has actually blown through the gaskets in 7 out of the 8 spots. My question is.. The engine is a dual port, do normal EA81's have these outer holes?? Should I cut holes in my new head gaskets if they arrive tommorrow without holes? I am in a tight spot here. Any suggestions gentlemen?? BTW Check out those Valves.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty B Posted October 6, 2004 Author Share Posted October 6, 2004 Thanks RallyRuss, thats one vote each way now...I really need a confirming Vote. Thats view is from my Verandah (porch for you Seppo's), it is Great Oyster Bay on Tasmania's East Coast. Full of fish and Crayfish. Everyone is welcome. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Thanks RallyRuss, thats one vote each way now:) Not all votes are equal.. Listen to Russ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Those "extra" holes are there for ease of casting the head, and or block. If the matching hole ain't in the gasket, don't put it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajavwnsoobnut Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 sorry bout the slight off topic comment but right when I saw the name of this thread I was going what in the world? shouldn't this be in offtopic? considering the tatoo thread that is thriving on the offtopic forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singletrack Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Get it? Haha. Time for bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIS Subaru Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 Here's another vote for leaving the head gasket alone. The only time I would consider cutting an extra hole in the gasket would be if the factory gasket had the hole and the replacement did not. On that subject, I just looked at a replacement standard EA81 head gasket I have, and it has the exact same holes as the one in your picture. I also thought of this reason not to cut out the holes. The blocked coolant passages are right next to your exhaust valves (because this is a dual-carb EA81 head). If you cut them out, I'd worry about too much temperature difference between the coolant passage and the exhaust port. For example, MPFI EA82 heads have a chronic problem of cracking between the exhaust port and the nearby coolant passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty B Posted October 11, 2004 Author Share Posted October 11, 2004 I agree, the new gaskets have small holes in some of the journals, it must be to slow the coolant flow to allow heat to transfer better. Excellent advice guys. Thank you all. What did we ever do without the internet?? Make all these mistakes once each.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myxalplyx Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 I agree, the new gaskets have small holes in some of the journals, it must be to slow the coolant flow to allow heat to transfer better.Excellent advice guys. Thank you all. What did we ever do without the internet?? Make all these mistakes once each.... Your picture of the head and the gasket itself is worth a thousand words. So thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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