How to avoid HeadGasket failure

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How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby njr600 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:06 pm

HI to all!!! Just wondering how long does a typical Headgasket last on the 2.2 turbos. I had blown mine in 2007 and got it replaced the same year but was wondering what could i do to avoid this from happening again or does this happen with age. I have a 84 Dodge 600 2.2 turbo. It seems to be running good but i'm just trying to avoid this from happening again. The cost at local shops are really expensive. Had a good mechanic actually come out to my house and fixed it correctly. Took some time but have not had a problem with it sense. Any suggestions to stop this from happening????
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby 89ARIES » Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:20 pm

Well, for one thing, I have been told to look for an aftermarket High Performance Mopar head gasket that is suppossed to last longer. Turbo-mopar forums and some here
would know where to order one. I have gone through two headgaskets since I got my car 128,000 miles and 8 years ago. Not a fun thing, but your lucky when the fracture is slight, you
catch it early, and there is no damage to the engine.
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby njr600 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:46 pm

@89 ARIES omg two headgaskets so far. Ugggh well the longer i keep my car i will prob go thru another one lol. Does the motor just get too hot for the gasket?? I blew my radiator fan relay in 2008 and was running around with out knowing. I only notice when the overflow was boiling over. Someone metioned to get a toggle switch and have it linked in with my fan so i can just turn it on as the motor heats up but i have never got around to getting that done. I dont really like having the electrical fan though. Wish it was the old school fan that stayed on when the car starts up :D
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby 89ARIES » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:03 pm

Well, what happenes is the crappo aluminum metal goes through a serious of expansions and contractions depending on engine temperature and weather conditions.
This constant expansion and contraction reaches a breaking point after so many miles where fractures appear in the flimsy headgasket on the block between cylinders. As you
know, the gasket is just a small sealant piece that is wedged between the head and block. Iron gaskets were more durable. In my case, my engine started running hot and
attempting to "overheat" where the needle would rise almost to the top of the temp gauge, then shoot down real fast. We discovered a hairline fracture where coolant was leaking out,
but thankfully not into the combustion chambers to milkshake the oil and ruin the motor. Thanks to Butch, and only $350 in parts, he stripped it down for me and gave me a lesson in auto repair.
That was Sept 2009. We got real dirty for three days, but I got a lot out of it.
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby njr600 » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:21 pm

Thats good that you caught it before it messed the motor up. I had that milkshake thing going on with mine that year when it went. It looked like that when i went to check my oil. And i had brought a whole bottle of Antifreeze and poured it into my radiator to watch it leak out from the bottom. Uggh what a mess. Good thing you have a temp gauge in your car. I got 4 idiot lights which work but come on i guess when the problem is at its worst lol. I need to put a guage in my car for oil and water temp
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby K-CAR_WAGON » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:55 pm

njr600 wrote:what could i do to avoid this from happening again or does this happen with age.


Avoid overheating the car and change the Antifreeze regularly. Consider installing a temp gage. For more severe applications consider installing an auxillary fan and/or install a higher capacity radiator than the original one. If you ever need to replace the gasket have the mating surfaces (head/block) inspected for problems and/or reworked/replaced as needed. If you have to have the gasket replaced,I think, the Mopar performance gaskets are supposed to be better quality and last longer. Make sure you follow the proper torque sequence when installing the new gasket.

A large part of the gasket wear out problem is the dissimilar metals used for the block and cylinder head with different rates of thermal expansion, which you really can't due to much about.
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby njr600 » Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:03 pm

Thanks for the comments. I will look into a temp gauge to put in my car. I have the idiots lights like i said earlier but i would actually like to see what the temp is in my car. And i will start getting my Antifreeze changed regularly too.
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Re: How to avoid HeadGasket failure

Postby 88 aries » Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:25 pm

Mopar performance headgasket is the key..also it depends on your climate.. I never have a problem with mine since I only drive them in the summer time, my ice blue 1988 Dodge aries still has the headgasket from when we installed a new engine and that was back in 2002. My Aunt had a 1988 Dodge daytona 2.2 N/A and it never blew a headgasket. The car had over 200,000 miles still ran great but the shift linkage went and she didn't want to fix it.
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