Grant74

iTrader: (10)

I have bought a set of STI4 heads, complete rebuilt etc, and am compiling my shopping list.

In my head I had:

Headgaskets
Cam belt kit

Clutch is fine and all else in good nick.

Then I read about people spending £600 on headgasket kits, and got a little scared! I was thinking of either buying Subaru, Cometic, or Cosworth gaskets, and get nowhere near that price!

I was also planning on re- using my head bolts, but is this a bad idea? car is on about 340 in a 98 Classic, with 34k miles on it.

All help appreciated gents

Grant

dbay

iTrader: (21)

definate no no for the head bolts im assuming you have had the heads skimmed and the valves are regound and shimed up.

mls head gaskets from api are £130 ish
im gaskets £20 ish
rocker gaskets, coil seals and washers £50ish per head
cam seals £10ish each x4
valve stem seals (complete gasket set to get seals £100ish) or you can buy them from subaru by quantity
head bolts start from £35 upwards depending on what your running and the risks you want to take (and can afford)
fuilds

all prices are ish because prices do change so just going on prices ive had over the last year or so

Grant74

iTrader: (10)

Heads are supposed to have been reshimmed and ground, but haven't received it yet. As it has been refurbished I was hoping many of the gaskets and seals would have been done lol but will have to wait.

Would have got API to do it but I have to factor in travel and it's difficult at the moment

saiklon

Remember that if you use MLS head gaskets, the head and block finish has to be extremely smooth (a mirror finish basically) otherwise the head gasket may leak. I am currently running a composite head gasket that is holding 1.4bar perfectly.

Head bolts can be reused, you're not running extremely big power. People say the stock head bolts stretch, yes that's true, and that's why the initial head torque sequence calls for tightening and then backing off to ensure they are stretched before you get down to the final tightening sequence.

Grant74

iTrader: (10)

Am I right that a composite gasket isn't ultimately as strong but is more forgiving to fit? Am only running 1.35 bar on standard internals.

saiklon

Yes, that's right, the composite head gasket will conform better to surface imperfections but is weaker than a MLS head gasket.