O-Ringing The Head

CUMMINSTD

CUMMINSTD

New Ride, Poor Wallet :/
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
388
Ok I have decided to send the head off and have it o-ringed, here is the next big question, do I use the older 24 v gasket or the mls gasket? Ive heard either one but does it make a difference in how the groove it cut to determine which gasket to use. The place I was gonna have o-ring it is associated fuel in Atlanta being as its only about 30 min away from me and its who Garmons uses. I would call Jeff and ask him this but im not a big fan of calling someone for info all the time when I do most of the work myself, just seems rude. Question is what hg, and what torque with 425 studs, and any re torque. Thanks in advance :Cheer:
 
Use a modified 12V gasket.
Why are you O-ringing and not keeping the MLS with the studs?
 
Ive been told that o ring is the way to go. I popped the MLS Friday but I had the timing maxed out on the TST and on the smarty, so I think that's the big problem. Im just ready to be done with pulling the head
 
Haisley Machine sells a nice common rail gasket for rings, They are $261 plus shipping.
 
My mistake, yes i have my block fire ringed and thats what i use.
 
at what point did you need fire rings, ive been told bolt ways, some swear by the MLS and studs, others sat o-ring and 24v gasket, just not sure on where to turn for a daily driver
 
CUMMINSTD said:
at what point did you need fire rings, ive been told bolt ways, some swear by the MLS and studs, others sat o-ring and 24v gasket, just not sure on where to turn for a daily driver
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I've never had an issue with o-rings. I like them because I don't have to have a special gasket to run them.

Sent from my paperweight
 
You can o ring and use 425's, or you can make sure it's flat and use 625's and the mls. I would do the latter.

Don't use timing from both tst and smarty. You're asking for problems.
 
From the little experience I have had with o-rings and an mls and 425's I would say go with the 24v gasket, copper coat it and do a couple re-torques.

In my limited experience the 425's do not have the clamp force necessary to get a proper crush on the MLS if the protrusion is on the higher side. O-rings and an mls gasket is the only head gasket I have had issues with. We have run 1500hp+ out of an MLS with 625's, and I have run 1200hp+ on a 24v gasket with o-rings and 425's.

The Haisley fire ring kit is where we will go if we ever get to the point of hg failures on the MLS and 625's. Well machined surfaces and some copper spray go a long way.
 
You can deck your head all you want, if the block isnt flat your not going to have luck at higher levels either. There has been more than just a couple times i have seen these blocks have an untrue surface.
On a daily driver, run a lubed tap in every hole, get a pencil vac and suck out the holes. Use an oem mls gasket (copper sprayed is a good idea) and run the 625's in with a good re-tq schedule.
 
the block and head were re surfaced about 10,000 miles ag0, so I would think the block is still good
 
CUMMINSTD said:
How much added timing is safe on these motors?
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There isnt really a set number of degrees, it all fluctuates with the electronics. Its safer to adjust timing via efi or udc on the dyno at different loads.
 
joelc79 said:
There isnt really a set number of degrees, it all fluctuates with the electronics. Its safer to adjust timing via efi or udc on the dyno at different loads.
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If I had access to a dyno that's exactly what id do, guess the safest is to just not stack timing boxes
 
So I have learned lol, would I be better to control the timing with the smarty or the tst?
 
i just had my head o-ringed and i used a thicker, stock CR gasket and 425's. i was worried about valve clearance because of how much the machine shop took off the head and running a 188/220 cam. i talked to hamilton about it and the gasket im using and he said it should be fine. turns out that cummins' thicker CR gasket is 7 thousandths bigger and the head had 7 thousandths taken off so it was perfect, no clearance issues.

after reading this im worried i didnt have the block decked. i guess only time will tell at this point lol.
 
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Russellt198 said:
i just had my head o-ringed and i used a thicker, stock CR gasket and 425's. i was worried about valve clearance because of how much the machine shop took off the head and running a 188/220 cam. i talked to hamilton about it and the gasket im using and he said it should be fine. turns out that cummins' thicker CR gasket is 7 thousandths bigger and the head had 7 thousandths taken off so it was perfect, no clearance issues.

after reading this im worried i didnt have the block decked. i guess only time will tell at this point lol.
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Who Did Your Machine Work To Be Able To Run A Most Gasket With ORings?
 
I would definitely use a MLS gasket buttons again I'm a fan of flat surfaces and 625 studs.
 
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