the title of this thread might be a little misleading.. here's my situation..

i have a 1998 mustang v6 that i've tore completely down.. I had already installed the new heads before i had gotten around to removing the cam.. when i removed my cam, i realized that i was going to have to get the bearings replaced. the shop that is doing the bearings said that they wanted me to remove the heads so that they didn't damage them...

so i had already cleaned and prepped the deck, and the heads.. and i torqued the gaskets down as speced, however the engine never ran before i pulled the heads again.

the gaskets are steel, thats pretty much all i know about them.

can they be reused, or should i purchase a ANOTHER set for $160.. as a reference to headgasket.com they had said that you can reuse them if they arn't damaged.. but it seemed like they were saying 'not bent' which should be obvious to just about anybody..

 

Well...

In that case it doesn't sound like a bad idea, but if you're like me I would still buy new ones either way. They are going to replace your cam bearings, and where are you getting 160$ gaskets? I just bought two for 90$

 

both napa and autozone quoted around the same.. both between 75 and 82 ish a piece

 

the gaskets themselves look fine.. they have the compession raises... it doesn't look (to the eye) that there is anything wrong with them..

the only thing that i wasn't sure of is if they kinda act like a 'crush ring' in a rear end.. basically once you crush it past 'perfect' its rendered useless and you have to buy a new one.. if thats not the case... ya know?

 

You might be able to get away with it, but I wouldn't try. If you are spending the money to get the motor done right why shortcut to save $90?

 

While on the topic of heads and gaskets, is it completly retarded to attempt to port and polish your own heads? I was thinking about giving it a shot but I dont want to really f#ck them up and ahve to buy new ones. i've seen it done before and know what to do more or less, I would obviously research it first. Maybe i could pick up a pos head at a junk yard to practice. Sorry to thread jack.

 

While we're on the topic, you did remember to change out the head bolts right? FYI, you never, ever, ever reused head bolts once their toque is broken (after the engine is ran).

 

there are people on both sides that have reused them and people that strictly forbid it... i did use new bolts however... but im not sure i believe all the hype...

VCS, where did you purchase your head gaskets? domestic?

 

shaun, a basic porting job can likely be done at home... it really isn't as complicated as some try and make it seem... (as with most things)

i wouldn't suggest doing any advanced porting... your not very likely to get the flow the same from cylinder to cylinder.. if you purchase aftermarket heads form a place like SSM they also replace the valves, seals, springs and locks while they're at it...

personally i think if your gonna bother porting your heads, you should simply let a professional who knows what they're doing do it for you...

 

What do you guys think of this gasket kit? Not too much!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-04...RCHQ3aUSQ3a101