Quick head gasket question?

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dgully

dgully

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Installed my edelbrock heads and then found out I had to pull them off to grind out the push rod tunnels for clearance issues. But the heads were torqued down. Can I reuse the head gaskets or have to spend another $80 for new Fel-Pro gaskets?
Thank you
 
they are friggin' expensive aren't they!? I hate to say it - but I wouldn't. Small variances can lead to big troubles.. think of it this way - if you do reuse them and they fail to seal properly.. yeah...
 
Absolutely. Years ago I reused Fel Pros after they'd been on a running engine and never had a problem.
 
Reuse them. Are the 1008? I have reused those on different blocks/heads with up to 12-1 comp with no failures. I always torque mine to 95-100 ftlb
 
I wouldn't but its your motor what if something if off and it goes boom..is it worth $80.00 in gaskets???
 
I have reused Fel Pro head gaskets in the used and as in your case, bolted down but not used under running conditions. No issues.
 
Just IMHO....If the gaskets have never been heat cycled, then I would retorque them. They are going to move a bit anyway as they settle in with a few heat cycles. Re-torque them once after a couple of heat cycles. Even if you had never torqued the the gaskets in place before, you can be surprised how things settle in and a head bolt or 2 can be a bit loose.
 
Thanks for the replies, I think I'll order another set, hate to have all this time and unknown amount of money in this stroker and have the gasket fail.
 
If they are the felpro 1008 and you want to sell the used ones I would be interested in buying them.
 
nm9stheham said:
Just IMHO....If the gaskets have never been heat cycled, then I would retorque them. They are going to move a bit anyway as they settle in with a few heat cycles. Re-torque them once after a couple of heat cycles. Even if you had never torqued the the gaskets in place before, you can be surprised how things settle in and a head bolt or 2 can be a bit loose.
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I agree, if they haven't been heat cycled, there is no reason why you couldn't reuse them, no damage has been done to them, you torque them down again and go have fun.

I've taken Gaskets I used for torque plate honing and then used them when I bolted the heads down; 11.5 to 1, 318, no problems. BTW they were MP thin composition gaskets.
 
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