Head gasket set (recommendations)

[qed296]

Evening all,

Even though the garage says they stripped the engine it would seem they haven't,I've come to this conclusion because.....They left the new head gasket in the box of the few remaining parts...impressive move!!

So I know Payen have a good reputation in the gasket game but is there anyone I'm missing??

My engine number is HC1483ESS  (MK2 vitesse)

Also I've seen some say Recessed or not and Tagged or not,what does this mean please?

Thanks

[thescrapman]

Any Vitesse engine will have a flat topped block. The recessed bores with the matching tabbed he'd gasket came later.

[Nick Moore]

Later six cylinder engines had recesses around the top of the cylinder bores, and thicker rings in the head gaskets that fitted in those recesses. The theory was no doubt that the crushable rings would seal better. In practice, flat top engines aren't any more prone to head gasket failure, even with high compression ratios.

The head gaskets with crushable rings, for blocks with recesses, are identified by tags on the rear end of the gasket. You can see them if you look between the rear of the engine and the bulkhead.

[ferny]

Ask them if they changed it first as they may have used one they supplied themselves? If it's running fine I'd be tempted to leave it alone and enjoy it.

[qed296]

If only they had,they bring a whole new meaning to cutting corners...