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To spray, or not to spray? Using MLS headgasket...

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Hey guys, I just aquired a EF/EL XR6 (94DT) head to drop on the XG motor in my XF ute.

So lastnight I ordered a EA-AU Permaseal MLS headgasket that should arrive early next week.

My question is, has anyone else used this particular brand of gasket?

And if so, does it come pre-coated with some type of sealing compound, or should a copper sealant be sprayed/brushed on it, or should I just install it dry?

The new head has been freshly decked 20thou, so has a nice clean surface, and I expect the block to be in a good, flat condition (after cleaning) as it only has 168,000kms on it.

I've seen plenty of good reviews about this gasket, but nothing about whether to coat it or not before installation.

I'll be using brand new TTY headbolts I have here too.

Just want to make sure I get a good seal between the head and block, as I am running a Wade 977B camshaft with double valve springs, and expect the comp ratio to be a little higher than stock with the 20thou decking and the thinner MLS gasket.

Any info/advice would be greatly appreciated as always.

Thanks in advance.

Jay.

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And been the only baby around here I'd suggest checking piston to valve clearance and making sure the cam is dialed in spot on thanks to the decked head thinner gasket and higher lift camshaft making cam timing critical.

 

P.S I have seen people spray there gaskets with silver frost too :)

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And been the only baby around here I'd suggest checking piston to valve clearance and making sure the cam is dialed in spot on thanks to the decked head thinner gasket and higher lift camshaft making cam timing critical.

I thought as much, thanks for the advice bud.

Permaseal recommend only using their MLS gasket with the head decked no more than 30thou, as the gasket is also 30thou thinner than a standard graphite gasket.

So at 20thou decked (that i know has been done, could have been milled before that too I guess) it's gonna be close...

I also have a new graphite gasket that I was going to put on with the standard head, so if I can't get away with the MLS, I'll just chuck that one on instead.

I read (on Fordmods) that some others have taken more off their 4L heads and run the MLS with different results, some claim that it still worked fine, others say that they got timing chain rattle.

Fortunately I'm not in any real hurry, so I'll just keeping checking my tolerances as I go.

 

Anyway, many thanks to you guys for the info, looking forwards to finally getting it all together.

I'll keep you guys posted on how I go with it.

Cheers.

Jay

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Do keep us posted cos I think theres a few who would like to know the outcome.

 

P.S Did anyone else think this thread was going to be about fitting NOS to his engine :)

yes. lol

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Lol, sorry for the mis-leading thread title.

If it helps any, I am considering a 50-100hp shot of NOS a little further down the track, as I have a 1/8th strip right behind our property to go play on.

I've been reading up all morning about other similar setups as mine (couldn't get onto the OzFalcon site all morning), it looks like valve/piston clearance shouldn't be an issue, and apparantly I can use a couple of washers to get a couple more mm adjustment with the tensioner if need be.

So it looks like an adjustable timing gear might be all that's needed to dial the cam in a bit better, but that doesn't appear to be a compulsory mod either.

Any $$$ I can save here will go towards a decent exhaust/extractors, so I might just put it all together and fire it up and hopefully she will be all good.

Cam should be a good match with the 5spd conversion and 3.27 final ratio

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I've gone with the VHT copper gasket sealant and Loctite 243, hopefully the gasket should turn up today, so I'll put some progress pics up once I get goin.

image_zps4a7da43f.jpg

 

I might be back on to ask the gurus for some advice if I get stuck, though it looks pretty straight forward to me.

Thanks for the help guys.

Jay.

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And another word of advice Jay, just make sure your bloody torque wrench is a proven tool that works correctly. I recently did my crossflow head gasket where I coated the new gasket with Hylomar blue and was pulling the studs down and the wrench didn't work and I snapped a head bolt

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Thanks Ando, I should be all good on the torque wrench front, I've got a new Kinchrome wrench to use for the job, and I'm using the VHT copper gasket sealant for the gasket.

Finally got around to stripping the old head today, which was pretty easy considering all the exhaust and intake bolts were loose, even had one missing at the back of the intake!

I ran out of time before I started cracking the headbolts, so I'm a little worried as to what I'm gonna find under the old head...

The whole thing is confusing, as the motor come out of a 168,000km 95 XG, the inside of the head looks to be in fantastic condition, but everything else looks grubby.

Fingers crossed I'm not in for any more rude surprises tomorrow arvo when I pull the head off, but at least now I can go through the engine bay wiring/hoses/gaskets and bring them back up to scratch without too much hassle.

image_zpsfb1f5376.jpg

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This one is a 95 XG bottom end bud.

The serpentine belt on this motor is only for the AC compressor, the other 2 belts are a V arrangement.

I actually put a smaller diameter V belt on the alternator to help shift the pulley/alternator up away from the bottom support.

That's how I was able to get away with just a slight notch to get some extra clearance.

Though now I have a welder, I'm going to enlarge the notch and weld in a bit of plate to help keep it nice and strong.

If I had my way again, I'd use a later engine with the full serpentine setup so there would have been heaps of clearance without cutting anything.

Hoping to get the head pulled off and block cleaned up this arvo, finally got a nice sunny day today.

Hope it stays that way!

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