Why are engines still designed to have headgaskets. Couldnt they some how cast the engine where it didnt require a headgasket. Design the bottom of the block a lil different so the pistons can be put in from the bottom.

No more blown HG.

4/25/2008 11:30:07 AM

many small motors are built like this. with the tolerances and pressures of a car motor though, maybe the flex of a head gasket is needed?

4/25/2008 11:31:54 AM

you would have to tear apart the bottom end to get the valves out. it would be pretty impractical for a number of reasons. How often do you blow a head gasket? At least you can replace the gasket and machine the heads instead of just scrapping the whole thing. You couldn't do that if the heads were not removable.

[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : f]

4/25/2008 11:33:50 AM

it'd be a pain to get the valves back in

and the valve retainers the ghetto way


[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : ]

4/25/2008 11:34:31 AM

damn forgot about those fucking valves. Well why would you need to replace valves anyway unless the whole motor is trash? Tbelt breaks, motor is toast anyway, unless its non-interference.

[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 11:38 AM. Reason : spelling]

4/25/2008 11:37:55 AM

Look at it like a fuse in an electrical system....

If a gasket didnt blow, something else (more expensive) probably would.


I have no idea. Just thinking out loud.

4/25/2008 11:58:16 AM

Heat cycling would be a problem as well.

4/25/2008 11:58:35 AM

- the manufacturing processes necessary to construct
- ease of maintenance
- cost of replacement parts

4/25/2008 12:02:27 PM

With the constant expansion/contraction that an engine will see in its lifetime, and requiring internal maintenance, just gives more practicality to using the head gasket. What I'm wondering is instead of using a flat head gasket, why not use a 3-dimensional pre-fab one that would contour to interlocking metal grooves around the passageways and cylinders for longer reliability. Would seem harder to push a gasket through various directions rather than just straight across. Maybe too much shit to clean up if the internals needs maintenance?

[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 12:07 PM. Reason : goddamn I type slow]

4/25/2008 12:06:45 PM

^ A 3d head gasket would make it incredibly expensive/ difficult to have heads machined

[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 12:11 PM. Reason : g]

4/25/2008 12:11:14 PM

^^all gaskets are flat. it's why they work so well You leave too much room for error with a curved surface and gasket.

4/25/2008 12:24:25 PM

how much would it cost to o-ring heads from the factory ?

4/25/2008 12:28:10 PM

On a related note, I guess removing my radiator cap and finding a nice chocolate mousse-colored foam inside points to a blown gasket, huh?

4/25/2008 3:56:18 PM

Not necessarily. Was this the radiator cap to your desert making machine?

...or the one in your car?

4/25/2008 3:57:34 PM

my bad, this was for my espresso machine.

4/25/2008 4:12:23 PM

Current head gaskets can't be that expensive to warrant a whole design change for an engine block and casing. It's what $50-100?

4/25/2008 4:39:34 PM

If you charge 100 bucks to replace my head gasket, I would be over there in a heartbeat.

4/25/2008 4:47:42 PM

Quote :

"With the constant expansion/contraction that an engine will see in its lifetime, and requiring internal maintenance, just gives more practicality to using the head gasket. What I'm wondering is instead of using a flat head gasket, why not use a 3-dimensional pre-fab one that would contour to interlocking metal grooves around the passageways and cylinders for longer reliability. Would seem harder to push a gasket through various directions rather than just straight across. Maybe too much shit to clean up if the internals needs maintenance?"

head gaskets aren't pieces of paper. they have a "squish" to them, from the shitty felpro type to multi-layer types (several pieces of thin metal that get crushed into a '3d' gasket like you mention).

4/25/2008 4:56:34 PM

Well I realize they have some thickness to them, thats how they fill the microspaces and impurities of the surface. It just seems to me if it weren't for the reasons mentioned above (cost/cleaning) it would still give better life/reliability and is harder to blow through one if it had to follow a non-linear path between two metal pieces. Alternatively, what do you guys think is better - prefab types, RTV, or a combination of both (which I heard a long time ago someone said was a no-no)?

4/25/2008 5:32:24 PM

Quote :

"If you charge 100 bucks to replace my head gasket, I would be over there in a heartbeat."

fat change, 50-100 for the cost of the actual gasket. If you had the tools and know how, it's not too bad. It's what a 4 hour job by people who know what they are doing. I don't, so it takes me two days and that's with help. heh. And you'd probably wanna replace other components in the top end as well since your in there.

[Edited on April 25, 2008 at 6:59 PM. Reason : ]

4/25/2008 6:57:58 PM

yeah, its not really just a head gasket job, you get sucked in to changing a whole buncha stuff.

4/25/2008 10:04:52 PM