Ok, ALUMINUM HEAD and IRON BLOCK straight 8. The new head gasket is dead soft copper one side, composition and copper seal rings on the other. My brain is saying seal the cylinders at the block with the comp/sealing ring side to the iron. Let the aluminum crush seal against the all copper side. When you O-ring an engine for boost or high compression you put em in the block, I'm using that thinking I suppose. I also plan to copper hi-temp spray the block side of the gasket but not the head side. The copper spray isnt 100% but "feels like" a good idea. Old motor obviously being a straight 8. The engine is fresh, just an error in initial installation requires a new head gasket. Its an Auburn 8, as I know some will ask. No, pictures not happening just yet. No, I didn't do the 1st install. That's all the evidence your honors, what say you. And as always thanks in advance.
This side or that side up opinion is what I would think as well. Then again, I fly by the seat of my pants with no real experience.
Is the gasket symmetrical so it can be put on either way? I always spray both sides of head gaskets with copper coat and I put it on real heavy….
Ok here is an image I found of an Auburn gasket. looks symmetrical also looks 100% copper. So probably not a pressurized cooling system then?
My thinking is the softer side of the gasket takes the irregularities blocks so the head can have a flat surface to seal against. Copper coat on both sides and solid copper on the head side.
I've always understood "rings up", as in against the head, not the block. This way if there is a failure and something needs to be resurfaced, it's the head and not the block. While I agree with you that the seal is better along the clamped side (the block) and that's why the blocks are O-ringed in turbo and high cylinder pressure applications, pretty much everyone I know in both nostalgic engines and late model mustangs go rings up. I had a similar situation with my Olds 324. I went rings up, sprayed it down with copper spray gasket. Torqued down to spec and sent it. 4 years and like 50K miles later, no issues at all.
Gasket supplier says do whatcha like, no preference. Didn't make it easier. Yes Mark, symmetrical and not pressurized. Block is fine with no issues, head is perfectly flat checked with a machinist's straight edge at any and all angles. This was a coolant failure. Spraying both sides is interesting. I've done that on other stuff. The old gasket shows the "bite" of the head and deck machining, which is why I thought to spray just 1 side. I too have never had a gasket fail from the spray. My Duramax went on dry both sides, an imperative according to literature but it's 17:1 compression too (!) and specified left/right, engine side. My racer with 14:1 was also dry, but used the tried and true Fel-Pro blue with the rings at the cylinders. Over 400 rounds, no fail. This is different, I don't ever want to see it again for this issue and in spite of what some might say I value conversation about it. Now I might just spray both sides, yet I'd hate to impair the dead soft copper abilities. Let it also "tooth mark" from the head cut. Maybe a wee bit heavier on the comp/seal ring side. I don't normally have such deep thoughts on this. An older fella told his grandson he used a very thin coat of grease both sides to allow the gasket to slip and squeeze into place easier. Makes sense but I can't see that approach on anything but a steel shim style gasket. Good stuff so far...
I have read that the old timers from the era of the Auburn used gasket shellac, or aluminum paint on head gaskets. Not sure what exactly gasket shellac is though.
Xs2 on the copper, cheap aluminum paint with high aluminum content works well also. Too bad Cometec doesn’t have a MLS gasket for your application they work really good on aluminum head - cast iron block engines, they are pricey but worth the money IMO. They probably can custom make a gasket. Dan
I'd put some type of sealer on both sides...either the copper paint stuff, or even brush some non-hardening sealer around each coolant passage.
Gasket shellac is like Permatex aviation or Indian Head. The nasty brown shit nobody likes, except me that is. And yes, in my childhood I recall Dad using silver Rustoleum to seal a head gasket.
All of my flathead ford v8 engines I built for myself(probably upwards of 12-15) over a 50 year period I made sure I had a copper gasket sheeting on the top and bottom of the gasket with some form of ??? Composite material sandwiched in between the copper uppers and outers. I also installed them DRY as in NO coating of any kind and if a problem arose the head in question could be removed and REUSE THE SAME GASKET AGAIN. I even went so far as to reuse the same USED gasket on a different block. Never did have a failure of any kind!! I also never torqued over 50 ft pounds in all of those engines. Some were under 4-5-6 pounds pressure caused by the supercharger,never had a problem sealing up.
Is the motor supercharged? If not with low compression and non-pressurized coolant, I don't think that thing's going to leak no matter what. If it is supercharged, they don't make that much boost anyway so I think you're still pretty safe. I would just spray the permatex high temp copper onto the copper side of it and put it in either way.
I love the Permatex Aviation gasket shellac. It goes on thin and smells just right. I put it on my pancakes.
I think Permatex #1 dries hard, like the small dark bottle of Indian Head I bough back in around 1965. Some sources mention it is intended for metal to metal joints. The later Permatex #2 and #3 are non hardening . Probably more appropriate for gasketed joints, especially when there will be differences in thermal expansion, like aluminum heads on iron blocks, and probably even iron heads on iron blocks. When folks enthusiastically endorse Hylomar, I think they've been working with one or another flavor of Hylomar "Blue, which are also a "non-setting". It is interesting and actually confusing that some Blues are "High-performance, non-hardening, and non-setting gasket sealer" while others only say "Non setting jointing compound". And Hylomar these days has a full range of products including RTV and anaerobic thread lockers and sealants. https://hylomar.com/products/
Here's a ? , are you trying to enhance sealing against water or against compression ? I'm not aware of any sealant that seals against compression . Many claim to seal against water .
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