Competition Head gasket for p-pump 12v

[12V Ford]

Is the marine headgasket still as good as it gets for a 96 12v or is there a MLS one that will work? I will be doing the hdgskt and studs soon because I have a leak :{ . I guess that's what 58 psi will do.

 

[KevinH]

your gonna have to o-ring it. you'll blow the marine gasket also they are only good up to like 50psi

 

[12V Ford]

Even with the head studs?

 

[bmoeller]

The o-rings would still be a good idea, even with head studs.

 

[JoshPeters]

O-rings or Fire Rings. I perfer Fire Rings.



To each his own. Alot of guys have luck with O-rings.



JP

 

[Turbo Thom]

Like Josh says, to each his own. But for me and my house, we will stay away from fire rings. If the engine is tuned properly, O rings do just fine.



. . Preston. .

 

[JoshPeters]

Even with the head studs?

A headgasket with Studs still won't hold. Trust me. I blew the gasket between 4 and 5. It sounded like I had a helicopter comming out the intake.



JP

 

[RHARVEY]

Been running the stock head gasket with just head studs on mine for nearly a year now. . Truck has twins,F1 EDM injectors,3k springs, and a # 10 plate... So far so good..... with 248k on the motor. .



Rick

 

[Turbo Thom]

But Rick, are yu running 75-105 lbs of boost on the strip, or sled pulling. I agree, it will hold, if yu don't push it. But too like Josh said, stud or bolts, it a waste without the rings.



. . Preston. .

 

[Jim Fulmer]

60-85 psi of boost for the last 3 years with a single O-ring in the head. Last year I went to 14mm studs with a fresh short block. All this time I have yet to have an issue with a head gasket.



Jim

 

[Turbo Thom]

I agree Jim. But Rick's runnin a stock gasket with stud's and no O ring.

 

[RHARVEY]

I know that BPine has the same setup as mine... . studs with stock head gasket. I replaced the stock bolts with studs for a little more clamping pressure.

You are correct I dont see those I numbers and yes I dont drag race of sled pull. But when I pull long hills I do see the 40lb mark ... that was the reason I did the studs. Once in a while I do see 50lbs...



Rick

 

[Reb.B]

if you are below 60 psi u'll be fine with just studs. O-rings are a waste of time. If you want it right fire ring it and be done. If the gasket blew up front by the thermostat housing, then if you were running 30-40 psi boost it woulsd have still blown. 12v trucks have a problem up in that front corner. If the problem was anywhere else then you blew the gasket from too much boost. Its a good idea to deck the head at the same time and then go with the marine gasket and studs. OH, and I DO drag race, sled pull and dyno, lol.

 

[RHARVEY]

Atta boy Reb!!!!





Rick

 

[JGheen]

O-rings are a waste of time. If you want it right fire ring it and be done. .

Well, some of us don't exactly have the money or time for a proper fire ring job in the block and I wouldn't go so far as to say o-ringing a head is a waste of time. So far they have been very worth while of my time.



Joe

 

[Reb.B]

it takes less time to cut the head for a fire ring groove than a o ring groove and there is no wait to push in the oring and make sure its perfect, so you can do the whole job fireringing in less time than o-ringing. As for price you have to buy a head gasket $100 and then you need wire $20. For the fire ring you buy a head gasket that has the firerings for $175. So $ for $, u'll be out $55. For $55 i'll do the fire ring job.

 

[Rhondasway]

Since you have to yard the head anyway, have it decked and check the block for that matter too. Heat over time can and will warp both, and all the studs in the world won't fix a gap. If the head gets shaved a measurable amount, you should probably go with an oversized gasket to compensate, ten or twenty thousandths -over. This will help reduce your compression, another small way to help prevent this failure.

That being said, I think most of us run O-rings, and they do work very well. They are certainly not a waste of time, and hold at pretty high/ long duration boost. You want to be sure that the wire protrusion and installation are correct, of course.

You can check your blown gasket and see where you had issues too, which can give you an indication of the root of the problem.

Good luck!

 

[BigBadDodge]

O-rings are a waste of time. If you want it right fire ring it and be done.

Damn, wish somebody would have told me that 4 years ago when I had my single O-Ring job done



BBD

 

[Reb.B]

well, u're blow'n freeze plugs for some reason. hey scott, are u using 14mm studs or 12 mm studs and how many times have you (or somebody working for you, (no disrepect)) retorqued the head.

If you ask 10 different people you'll get 10 different answers, big o-ring, small one, deep protrusion, shallow protrusion, one o ring, two orings, three o-rings. Nobody argues about the fire ring. It holds the best and the time and money difference is minimal. I wonder is Schied, Haisley, and the other big one back EAST are single o-ringed.

If you're gonna run a single turbo, then throw in a set of 12mm studs just for the hell of it. Joe D made 799. 9 HP and drove it and towed with stock gasket and stock studs. The bigger the HP level is the bigger the explosion. Now if you feel you must throw on a pair of turbos to make you engine look bigger, then you should fire ring it and be done with it.

WE NEED A POLL!!!! how many guys have blown head gaskets with o-rings and how many have blown head gaskets with fire rings?

 

[BigBadDodge]

One freeze plug, and only after going to 5K on the rpm's this year, nothing to do with head sealing. I have a single o-ring with 12mm studs and re-tourque my self religisly, its the nature of beast that comes along with high performance motors. Surely you do re-tourqes even with the fire rings? I know several high HP guy's who just aren't sold on the fire rings as of yet.



BBD