Yesterday I asked about reusing a head gasket. Overwhelmingly the response
was NO, not ever. That is what I expected, but I had a local
mechanic/parts seller, who recommended otherwise. He was acting in good
faith (I think) trying to talk me out of spending my hard earned cash (with
him) on a new head gasket. Incidentially, he doesn't do work for me, but
can get nice discounts on parts.
Last night I removed the offending piston with the broken rings. Each of
the two compression rings had only 1/2 of the ring intact. The other half
was in pieces which were 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. The piston a little
scratched, but fine. The bore is lightly damaged, circumferentially about
one third of the way up from the bottom. I'm going to try to hone out the
damage out first, but I really think it's new (used replacement) liner time.
Which brings me to my question. I am pretty certain that the
liners/pistons in my 1960 TR3 are original. I am concerned about what I
will find when I pull out the liners and how I will get the new ones to
seat. I suspect that I will be able to clean up the figure of eight gasket
seat with scotchbrite pads, but I would again appreciate some insight from
those who have done this before.
What is the best way to prepare the figure of eight seats to insure a good
seal?
Thanks,
Jack
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