Questions, with pictures. Take a look.

[badger-badger-badger]

First of all, I was trying to put my rear heads on, and even though I was being really careful, I managed to put a few little dings in my head gasket. Are these now considered "damaged?" Should I use it, or get a new one?

This isn't the best pic, but it shows the location of one set of dings.

And here's one more little gouge, right on the corner.

Now, you'd think, "Gee, he couldn't have done any more damage than that." And you'd be wrong. I also smashed my knock sensor right off the top of the block. I didn't even notice, until I had torqued the head bolts down.

And shouldn't the chain tensioner be pushing up on the chain? Mine is in the down position, and won't stay up. Is it just a spring that pushes it up? Or is it some funky oil pressure thing? Can I buy parts to fix it?

Thanks, everyone.
Tony

<small>[ October 12, 2003, 05:10 AM: Message edited by: badger-badger-badger ]</small>

 

[Hack]

The timing chain tensioner is oil pressure activated. Just learned that myself yesterday.

 

[Yamaha V6]

Yes, it's oil-fed, but there's usually more tension than that on it.

Also, knock sensor statement... did you compress the head gasket you're showing the dings on already, or were you talking about torqueing the FRONT head's bolts when you noticed it?

As long as the fire rings & the round return line seals are intact & not dinged, I'd say you're PROBABLY ok.

Good luck.

 

[badger-badger-badger]

Tensioner:
So how can I fix the tensioner? I don't even think I've heard that discussed.

Head gaskets:
I was trying to put the rear heads on, and I picked it up a bit to reposition it (get it past the wire bundles near the firewall) and thast's when I saw one of the dings. So the rear heads weren't even all the way in place yet. I probably hit it with the corner of the heads, or an exhaust manifold stud. For the second attempt, with the other gasket, I used a pickle fork to pry all the wires out of the way, and the heads went on smoothly. And as I can see, the little orange gasket is ok.

Knock sensor:
And Fred, did you have something to say about the knock sensor?


Thanks guys

 

[sdpatt]

The timing chain tensioners on my car are self-contained and spring loaded. Oil fed?

 

[shojuan]

I think you'll be ok with the nicked head gaskets. As long as there's undamaged meat surrounding the stuff that needs sealing (the holes) I'd say you're in good enough shape to give those gaskets a go and not worry about them keeping the following phrase in mind: "There's not a problem until there's a problem."

 

[Yamaha V6]

sdpatt:
The timing chain tensioners on my car are self-contained and spring loaded. Oil fed?

Mark explains it just as plainly Scott:

http://www.shoforum.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=001658#000007

Look for the feed hole next time you have the covers off.

<small>[ October 12, 2003, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: Yamaha V6 ]</small>

 

[jelloslug]

I think they are oil fed and spring loaded.

 

[CALL AAA]

And one more question. I hope it's not a dum one.
Are the 2 head gaskets the same? I already torqued the rear head down, and 2 holes don't line up "perfectly" on the front gasket. (block holes and gasket holes)
The holes match in location, but the shapes are a little off.
Should everything line up perfectly, or do I have the wrong gasket on the wrong bank?
Thanks,
T

 

[DHMag]

CALL AAA:
And one more question. I hope it's not a dum one.
Are the 2 head gaskets the same? I already torqued the rear head down, and 2 holes don't line up "perfectly" on the front gasket. (block holes and gasket holes)
The holes match in location, but the shapes are a little off.
Should everything line up perfectly, or do I have the wrong gasket on the wrong bank?
Thanks,
T

the 2 holes you are referring to are coolant passages. my original head gaskets looked identical to my upper gasket set. as long as you can see the hole in the block/head thru the gasket, itll be alright. i had thought about filing out the head gasket to match the holes. but then again, if they were meant to be opened up, im sure the manufacturer would have done so.