fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

[slow6]

The gaskets are marked "Left" and "Right".
They dont say "Drivers" or "Passengers side"
They dont say looking at the front of the engine its the "Left" side.

I think they are universal and can go on either side, vise versa.


The thing that most pisses me off is that the coolant passages on the heads are huge, about the size of a penny. But the coolant passages on the gaskets are the size of a BB! I'm gonna do some drilling on the gaskets to get them the right size.

I will post pics later on today

I also hate their lower intake gaskets, cause the small gaskets on the front and rear sometimes dont fit and dont even have the dowel rods that go into the block.

[UDLOSE98]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

the gaskets are univeral, meaning they will fit either side. I have a small coolant leak on one of my heads right now, only leaks when I shut the car off after driving, either cause it untorqued itself, or cause I didnt clean the surface off well enough, so I can not stress enough to you to make sure everything is cleaned up VERY well and seats correctly,you shoulda gone with MLS.

[AZ3.8Camaro]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

The fel pros are fine, in fact they look better quality than OEM, but In my experience, they aren't.

Those coolant holes are there to restrict coolant flow in some areas so that coolant flows into the head as it is supposed to. The OEM gaskets have restricted holes as well. Drilling them will mess up all of the engineering that went into cooling the head properly. Have fun with that.

[WickEdSix9838]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

Left is always the drivers side. Like AZ said, the coolant holes are that size for a reason, don't try to re-engineer what the engineers have already done. The head gaskets look the same to me, but they're always labeled to go on a certain side, even the Cometics. Put them on the way they say otherwise you might regret it when you have to tear it all down again.

[UDLOSE98]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

Left is always the drivers side. Like AZ said, the coolant holes are that size for a reason, don't try to re-engineer what the engineers have already done. The head gaskets look the same to me, but they're always labeled to go on a certain side, even the Cometics. Put them on the way they say otherwise you might regret it when you have to tear it all down again.

hmmm, wonder if that has something to do with my leak.

[WickEdSix9838]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

Maybe so. Only the left head gasket is labeled and there are arrow's pointing to the front.

[Mogobs30th]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

I have put on Fel-pro gaskets....they are not universal to both sides. You can tell which is which, they both say eithe left or right, and on one end of them it will say FRONT.

AS for drilling the holes, I wouldn't recommend it. Those holes are supposed to be that big or small for a specific reason. The factory ones I pulled off were exactly the same. They were made like that, and just because you think Fel-pro doesn't know what they are doing, they still sell more gaskets than any other competitor for one reason, they know how to make a gasket.

[slow6]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

the gaskets are univeral, meaning they will fit either side. I have a small coolant leak on one of my heads right now, only leaks when I shut the car off after driving, either cause it untorqued itself, or cause I didnt clean the surface off well enough, so I can not stress enough to you to make sure everything is cleaned up VERY well and seats correctly,you shoulda gone with MLS.

why MLS? I dont have much plans for this engine(i hope to get an LS1).
You should use Acetone on the surfaces
I should've gotten MLS and Studs as much as I've had to change the H/Gs though.

Maybe so. Only the left head gasket is labeled and there are arrow's pointing to the front.

every fel-pro H/Gs I've gotten both have been labeled either "left" or "right".
None have had an arrow

[WickEdSix9838]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

every fel-pro H/Gs I've gotten both have been labeled either "left" or "right".
None have had an arrow

I was talking about the Cometics....

[slow6]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

cool thanks

[AZ3.8Camaro]

Re: fel-pro Head Gaskets suck!

FEL PROS are universal essentially. I hope you didn't drill them.
You might be changing them again. ;)