[Mk2] [Turbo] new headgasket, to skim on not to skim? and other questions...how much?

[MR2-4-Life]

Hey, fitting new headgasket among other parts but wondering do I have to have the head skimmed, fitting rev3 steel headgasket on rev2 engine

if I do have to have it skimmed can it be done with cams and valves in place? and also how much am I looking at?

let the mechanics that use this forum know about my thread if poss as well so they can let me know there going rates and info aswell as each of your own opinions

i took pulleys off the head and kept belt in place so I didn't have to mess about with timing etc and now im wondering how can I sort timing if I am to put new valve seals in and have them all cleaned etc.....

also what is the torque settings for the head bolts?

Thanks ALLLL

[RyanRs]

if you are using a metal head gasket such as the rev3 then its ideal to have the head skimmed regardless, purely to give a good mating surface for the gasket to seal. You should test it for flatness anyway and skim if out of tolerance. Head will have to be stripped bare for skimming, a lot of machinists will not do it with the valves / cams etc still in situ. You should strip it anyway to be sure there is no swarf stuck in the head anywhere as this will kill your engine once the oil circulates!

[MR2-4-Life]

if you are using a metal head gasket such as the rev3 then its ideal to have the head skimmed regardless, purely to give a good mating surface for the gasket to seal. You should test it for flatness anyway and skim if out of tolerance. Head will have to be stripped bare for skimming, a lot of machinists will not do it with the valves / cams etc still in situ. You should strip it anyway to be sure there is no swarf stuck in the head anywhere as this will kill your engine once the oil circulates!

cheers for the reply, is it easy to sort my timing if I have to start from scratch to set it? as with skimming the head I will have to remove everything from it so timing will have to be done from scratch....

[bobhatton]

I would never skim a head unless it is not flat and has to be done. We have fitted and raced a number of Rev 2s with Rev 3 head gaskets and never had the heads skimmed.

You need to read the BGB before you start putting the heat back and timing up the cams etc

[MR2-4-Life]

I would never skim a head unless it is not flat and has to be done. We have fitted and raced a number of Rev 2s with Rev 3 head gaskets and never had the heads skimmed.

You need to read the BGB before you start putting the heat back and timing up the cams etc

liking this! will read up straight away, thanks for advise

[MR2-4-Life]

already got it all back together and painted, looks xxxxxx awesome! lol, carrying on with the engine bay tidy as no rush to get it done, although once turbo fitted when I find another one, standard or upgraded ready for my forge build I will do on the side at a later date then its ready to to be fired up, all valves cleaned, new seals fitted, cylinder head cleaned and carbon removed from aswell as pistons cleaned, cylinders are in new condition, everything cleaned and ready to release more hp lol

moment of truth will be soon when I come to start the rebuilt topend

[sidewaysmk2tubby]

I have been doing my head gasket recently and as well as valves reseated, head skim, I also had shim clearences redone so cylinder head is completely tip top. (I hope)

After some advice from Bob and also Peter on here I wish I had of changed to under bucket shims and put in rev3 cams ready to start the rest of the rev3 conversion but was too late as engineers shop had already set up the head.

Good luck with the rest of your build!

[MR2-4-Life]

hello, yeah sounds good to me, I did the same and checked all clearances etc too and seated the valves also, I wasn't bothered about doing a rev3 conversion as later in year im planning on a forged engine build so that will have a rev2 block and rev3 head

[T.F.S.]

I would never skim a head unless it is not flat and has to be done. We have fitted and raced a number of Rev 2s with Rev 3 head gaskets and never had the heads skimmed.

You need to read the BGB before you start putting the heat back and timing up the cams etc

I totally agree..

To many people skim for no reason whatsoever..

[MR2-4-Life]

[quote="T.F.S."][quote="bobhatton"]I would never skim a head unless it is not flat and has to be done. We have fitted and raced a number of Rev 2s with Rev 3 head gaskets and never had the heads skimmed.

You need to read the BGB before you start putting the heat back and timing up the cams etc[/quote]

I totally agree..

To many people skim for no reason whatsoever..[/quote]

all went together great, hoping when I start it all is sweet as a nut too lol

[T.F.S.]

I would never skim a head unless it is not flat and has to be done. We have fitted and raced a number of Rev 2s with Rev 3 head gaskets and never had the heads skimmed.

You need to read the BGB before you start putting the heat back and timing up the cams etc

I totally agree..

To many people skim for no reason whatsoever..

all went together great, hoping when I start it all is sweet as a nut too lol

So did my rebuild guide help you out in the end?

[MR2-4-Life]

rebuild guide?

[vinnyninja]

for £25 for a trade skim your bonkers not to .. you only need the cams out 90% of the time and any place that skim should wash afterwards to get the swarf out...

only take what you need to off you wouldnt have 1mm taken off if you only need a thou off

or a few hours work pulling it off .... ill spend the £25 cheers

[T.F.S.]

only take what you need to off you wouldnt have 1mm taken off if you only need a thou off

Well its not a thou you "need" taking off if it is not warped, its nothing that you "need" taking off..

You simply check the head with a straight edge and a feeler guage and if you cant do that take it to the engineering shop where you go for a skim and ask them to do it for you.

Any metal removed from the head will increase compression and bring detonation closer, something we are trying to avoid...

[bobhatton]

You are 100% right.

Never never skim a head unless it is way out of true

[GreddyMR2]

My head was skimmed, but it was overheated before and skimming was needed. I also put a metal HG at the same time and it is thinner than stock, so I suppose I should be afraid of detonation now? I use 98 fuel.

[bobhatton]

My head was skimmed, but it was overheated before and skimming was needed. I also put a metal HG at the same time and it is thinner than stock, so I suppose I should be afraid of detonation now? I use 98 fuel.

Just keep the boost down, do not try to run too much and you should be ok