[TR] Could a steel shim head gasket be the answer to blowing head gaskets

[David Ljung Madison]

Allan Reich says:
> So the thought came to me that maybe one of the Moss Steel Shim head 
> gaskets could be an answer.


Irv Korey replies:
> The steel shim gaskets are typically used on race engines to 
> increase compression. ..you have to SuperGlue .0015 copper wire..

I think you're talking about two different things.  There are also
shim head gaskets that are thicker than normal head gaskets and can
be used as a head gasket replacement or stacked with a head gasket,
though I think the head needs to be torqued down more if you're doing that.

Moss mentions part 694-505: "..as part of the compression lowering kit.."

I had a similar problem on my TR3A because the head had been milled
down too many times by a previous owner (who had, interestingly, complained
about overheating problems).  I had to replace a number of head gaskets
in order to combat this.  I have a shim somewhere that I only briefly used,
and as Murphy's law would expect, right after buying that shim I managed
to finally find a replacement TR3A head from a junkyard.

I would recommend finding a new head that is of the correct thickness
and avoid dealing with the gaskets if at all possible.  After pulling
the head a number of times it gets a little tiring.  :)

And if you're looking for a faster way to pull the head than the
Haynes manual, check out "Faster Head Removal" under:

http://triumph.Daveola.com/Album/Head-Gasket/

(But only if you think the head has come off in the last decade, or
 if you have a lift, otherwise the standard route might be easier).

Dave

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Dave Ljung Madison          http://GetDave.com/                415 341-5555
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