shim to block then gasket or gasket then shim?

[Ep3 ked]

I needed to get a shim for the head.. I hopefully will start putin it back together in like 2 weeks... I miss my ep so much. Iv been without it for like 2 months :mcry: my question is what should I put down first The shim or the gasket ?

[chunky]

I needed to get a shim for the head.. I hopefully will start putin it back together in like 2 weeks... I miss my ep so much. Iv been without it for like 2 months :mcry: my question is what should I put down first The shim or the gasket ?

why do you need to shim the head?

And what exactly do you mean by "get a shim for the head?"

[Ep3 ked]

The head needed to be cut .012 to .014 and the service limit is only .05 of so to make up for the lost space I needed to get a shim... Its .020 I didnt feel like dealing withg the valves and shit.

[chunky]

The head needed to be cut .012 to .014 and the service limit is only .05 of so to make up for the lost space I needed to get a shim... Its .020 I didnt feel like dealing withg the valves and shit.

Gotcha. Get a thicker head gasket from cometic. Head gaskets are typically 3 layer. The top and bottom layers are usually coated with something to help sealing. The middle layer is the spacer. If cometic doesn't make a head gasket thick enough, then what you can do is separate the 3 layers of the stock gasket, and replace the middle spacer layer with a thicker one.

Either way, you need that coated layer above & below the spacer for proper seal.

[RedSiBaron]

fuck that, just weld the head to the block...who needs a gasket :mrolleyes:

[Ep3 ked]

ya I would love to, but it seems a little riskey...Im not goin to hack it I need to do it the right way if I want it to hold. I allready droped cash on the shim and there not cheap.. so im jus goin to do it this way..what kind of spray should I use?

[chunky]

ya I would love to, but it seems a little riskey...Im not goin to hack it I need to do it the right way if I want it to hold. I allready droped cash on the shim and there not cheap.. so im jus goin to do it this way..what kind of spray should I use?

The right way is to get a custom head gasket.

http://www.cometic.com/custom.aspx

Who made the shim? How thick is it?

You should not need any spray if you do this right. Take the stock gasket apart & replace the middle layer with your shim. That should be all you need to do if you're dead set on using this shim, which I wouldn't advise. It seems to me that whomever made this shim for you wasn't able to give you correct information on how to properly install it. That's why you're on the forum asking these questions. Whoever made the shim should have been able to tell you the proper install procedure for their product.

If I were you, I'd ditch the shim & get a custom gasket from cometic. Especially if you are serious about wanting to do this the right way. Call them up & tell them how much you took off the head. They know the stock head gasket thickness & can make you a headgasket that will have a total thickness equal to the stock gasket thickness + the amount milled from the head.

[talonXracer]

Cometic will have the perfect gasket for you, just give them a call and tell them you want a custom gasket, the stock size is .028", so you want a .040" gasket.

I have never seen a shim ever used with a MLS gasket. I would expect it to leak like a sieve, and the cost of having a custom shim made at a machine shop will be far more costly than the proper sized Cometic.

[Deadphishy]

Please don't use a "Shim", Somethings you have to do the right way. When i put Giant cams in my car, I changed to a bigger gasket, it was only about 12 hours of work. Tobad i had the cams in all of 30 miles. Now i'm back to a stock thickness. Last thing you want to do is have to change out the head gasket after the motor is back together.

[Ep3 ked]

The shim is .020 I got if from rock auto. The damb thing cost me 80 bucks im not going to get rid of it.. I see some instructions inside the package but I havent had a chance to check em out... The shop shaved the head .021 cleaned it up and replaced all the valves.

[Deadphishy]

I suppose we live and learn.

Next time you should get a cometic head gasket, you'll save some money not having to buy the shim, and a new headgasket. You are using a new head gasket right?

You will need to coat the shim with some sealant on the block side. I don't know what you have, but i think the shim is suppose to go between the block and the headgasket.


And a little FYI, Sometimes shops will sell you things you don't need. It's all money, and getting old shit that they will never sell off the shelf. Trust me, i use to work at a "Tuner shop" Customer "A" buys random part from use, and it was the wrong part which we can't return. 5 months down the road we see customer "B" and we magicly have the part he needs, and cause we are such nice guys we will cut him a deal. Does it solve the problem, Maybe, could we have done it a lot cheaper and possibly better with another part, Yup.

But atleast that part is out of our store.

[Ep3 ked]

ya true that... Yes def. using a new head gasket you need use a new one everytime the head is taken off.