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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - reused head gasket

I reused an old head gasket.... After cleaning up the garage I found the new one and it was at that moment that I realised I used the old one. What is you advice, new gasket (it is a lot of work) or going on with the old one?


Flip
Flip Brühl 948 frog 59

What type of head gasket? Solid copper?

Had the engine been fired on the "old" head gasket, before you re-used it?

More detail please.

Lawrence Slater

Change it for the new one to avoid potentially damaging your engine and save yourself the trouble of ending up by the side of the road having to tow your car home since the old one will most certainly blow.
Alexander Sorby Wigstrom

If it were me, I would check for leaks, probably do a compression test, and if all seemed OK I would drive it, keeping an eye on things until I forgot.
But then I am a dedicated optimist!
Guy

Depends on your interpretation of "short" in "short term memory"

If < 3 days ---> Don't bother
If > 3 days ---> Already done
Alex G Matla

It is a black aluminium one (see Photo), I drove 500 miles with it and retoqued it after one heat cycle and after 500 miles (and many heat cycles). Retorquing the old one was funny: I hardly had to turn the nuts to get the proper setting. The car drives beautifully and fast. Compression OK so far (Lest than 3 days....)

Flip

Flip Brühl 948 frog 59

I've driven behind Flips 948 in France and can attest to it's speed. However, I put that down to a well set up Frogeye and a very good driver.
Gary & Gaps

I'd keep driving it. Treat it gently for another 500 miles, to see if anything shows up, and if not, I reckon you've gotten away with it.

But what I really meant, when I asked you -- "Had the engine been fired on the "old" head gasket, before you re-used it?" ---, was how long had the used gasket been used for, before you took the head off and accidently re-used that same gasket?

And why did you take the head off in the first place? Did you have a head gasket problem?
Lawrence Slater

That photo doesn't look either black or aluminum (never seen or heard of such!), to me. Rather a copper faced composite. I've reused them with no problem, always with similar retorques. Since it is working, leave it.

FRM
FR Millmore

Found the CAF070-n County head gasket on sale for £3.08. Not the most expensive hg on the market.
Lawrence Slater

Hell Lawrence,by my reckoning ol' Prop could get about 159 of them there gaskets for the price of his new head!
Matt1275Bucks

I replaced the cracked head for a temporary one, waiting for Peter Burgess to modify a 2A629 head . So next time in France on those country roads I can make Gary a dot in the mirror.
The gasket I reused was 500 miles old ( and looked like new...). I retoque the way F R Millmore described it in Boltbabble. I will give the £3.08 thing a try for 500 miles and then retoque it again.

Flip
Flip Brühl 948 frog 59

Well then you just might have found a way to save us all money on head gaskets then, and Prop too, as Matt rightly says. :). The head gasket you re-used, and also have a new unused one of, is supplied by Premier Supply Autoparts - Headcorn Kent . http://www.psautoparts-store.co.uk

County is one of their supliers, and apparently pretty good quality according to the guy I spoke to at Premier.

For the 948/1098 A series. They list the CAF070-N as being synthetic at £3.08. They also list the CAF070-C, as the copper/asbestos version of this at £8.90.

For the 1275 the number is CAF470 synthetic at £5.44, and CAF460 copper/asbestos at £11.02.

If your synthetic re-used hg proves to be succesful, as it seems to be, you might have discovered a winner.




Lawrence Slater

Mh, maybe best not to make a habit of it.
What if it leaks a bit and fills a cylinder over night (or longer) and you try to start a water filled engine?
Alex G Matla

This thread was discussed between 24/01/2012 and 25/01/2012

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