I plan on checking valve to piston clearance. Is it OK to reuse the head gasket after I've torqued it down once already for the clearance check?

Randy

 

as long as you don't load the motor by running it, you can re-use the gasket without any problems. I had the same problem you did, so I called Fel-Pro, and they told me that it's not a problem as long as the motor hasn't been run. TK

'77 F100, 100% Aftermarket 302 w/C4 cruisin' through 2.75's
John F. Daly III, E.I.T.
The TorqueKing

 

What if it's a "Perma Torque" by Fel Pro?

 

Specifically, that's the one I asked about, but you can re-use any head gasket unless you've run the motor with it, because at that point it becomes permanently deformed. TK

'77 F100, 100% Aftermarket 302 w/C4 cruisin' through 2.75's
John F. Daly III, E.I.T.
The TorqueKing

 

Interesting. I still learn things on this site.

 

I would just check the clearance without the head gasket. I believe it is fine if Felpro says so but I don't think I would try it.

 

Thanks everyone,

I never thought about eliminating the head gasket. Measure and just add the thickness of the gasket. Should work fine.

Randy

 

I re-use the head gaskets on my 460 race engine 2-3 times before I throw them away. It's not a daily driver, so it may only have 20-30 miles on it between the head removals. This was back when I was having problems with new alum heads and the timing chain. I ran it a while, then broke a timing chain and had to pull the heads. I got it fixed and then the dowel pin on the cam broke. Then after that was fixed, I ran it for a year until a rod broke. I went through the whole engine and finally replaced the head gaskets. I had no trouble running the head gaskets over and over and I run 14.5:1 CR which has a cranking compression of 240 psi. I wouldn't recommend it for a street engine, though.

Dave