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Porsche 356/912 – Head Gasket Sealing Face Machining

In common with many other Porsche and VW air cooled engines the integrity of the head gasket seal relies on thin rings fitted into the recess in the cylinder heads between the head and barrel.

The cylinder heads on these vehicles are particularly prone to distortion. This results from the continuous and extreme heating and cooling cycles these high performance air cooled engines are subjected to. In time, it is likely that a head gasket failure will result and if not rectified immediately further damage will be caused.

After any head gasket failure it is good practice to machine the cylinder head sealing faces to correct any distortion and prevent further problems developing. In extreme cases this becomes absolutely essential in order to avoid premature failure of the new gasket seal.

Each sealing surface is accurately machined to an equal depth ensuring that the finished job sits squarely on the cylinder liners. In turn, each pair of cylinder heads has all sealing surfaces machined equally to maintain compression ratios between all cylinders.

After machining the head gasket recess, a measurement should be taken to determine that, once installed there is sufficient clearance between the head and barrel upper cooling fins to prevent a situation where the two components can contact each other. If this were to happen the gasket would be prevented from sealing. In this instance further machining to the cylinder head lower face will be required to restore the required clearance.

Call us for expert advice and a quotation for your engine machining requirements.