Ok i have ben swapping out head gasket today (my first on a t4) petros method.
I am now at the section where petros suggests adding holes to gasket and i notice that the old gasket has a hole at almost all the coolant ports (innermost next to combustion chambers). The new gasket doesn't have as many holes furthermore one of the holes lines up like crap do i have the wrong 3ac gasket the engine IS a transplant.
Last edited by Gottolovem on Sat Jun 01, 2013 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I just went to quadruple check and the new gasket matches the picture in petros's method exactly
the old gasket has a hole above every single orifice in the block innermost outermost all of them
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I use the fel-pro brand, and they have a larger bore since I think they use the same gasket for both the 3a and 4a engine. Looks like you pulled out a factory gasket with smaller bore dia, and yes, more holes. that is interesting. You can drill them to match if you want, but as you can see there are larger holes in the back of the head than the rest, so most of the coolant will flow into the head from the back and flow forward. the more holes in the gasket in the water jacket area, the less flow from rear to front, and coolant entering the head along its length.
I would only add the extra holes under the exhasut valves to get extra cooling in that area.
Petros the new gasket in the photo is fel-pro however the 4 holes directly across from the combustion chambers are off center they do not mate up to the holes in the head. Could it be a mistake from the fel-pro factory or are they all that way will i harm the gasket buy drilling the holes in the right spot. I don't want the job to fail down the road. Would YOU get another gasket or drill holes in correct spot I really appreciate your input.
the opening in the gasket does not need to be centered on the water jacket passage. Not all of the water jacket passages will line up with the holes in the head gasket, but you can use the old one as a guide. I have no issue putting holes in the head gasket, the area around the cylinders and the oil passage (top left corner as pictured). the best way to cut the holes is with a sharp metal punch, drilling it sometimes damages the remaining gasket by delaminating it. A really sharp shop knife can work too if done very carefully.
Thanks for the advice i will add the holes buy the exaust valves and proceed with the job. If you are ever in the northern nevada area or any other member for that mater feel free to contact me. Burning man perhaps i have a large group of Canadian burners that store there stuff on my property and use my place for a staging area before they head out to the playa every year. I'm still holding on to many usable tranny parts and almost complete 1984 t4 parts car still runs good but rusty. There is more members up north of me that know what to do with all these parts. I can't bring myself to throw them away but there building up.
I really appreciate your input.