Jersey Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 I'm getting ready to install my cousins refreshed P90A with a Felpro 8799PT headgasket and i'm noticing some water ports seem to be blocked by the Felpro. It looks like the passages are in the head and in the block, just not cut out of the gasket? I checked two parts places and called FelPro themselves before i ordered it and this is the headgasket they had listed for it. Actually, they said it was the same for both the L28E and ET. Anyone with any info/part #'s on this? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 from the factory, the two gaskets are different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted December 29, 2003 Author Share Posted December 29, 2003 Oh yeah Yo, you just reminded me... i saved the original gasket that came out of it, and it matches up the same as the felpro with the water passages not cut out of it either. It does say "NISSAN" on it. I'm not sure if it's the original head gasket (donor car had 80k miles on it) or someone replaced it with the incorrect one, but it is the same as the FelPro 8799PT i bought to replace it. Strange huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 factory gasket blocks the same water ports as the felpro. I asked a Nissan guy about this he said something like it has to do with keeping the water flowing in the head a little longer to cool it better. I also know that Nissan has different part #'s for turbo and non turbo, but the guy didn't know what the differences were, if any. The only gasket I've seen that does NOT block those water ports is the expensive HKS one. I ran into this same issue when I was replacing the head on mine... the gasket that came off, and the only replacements I could find, all blocked those water ports. I ended up going on a wild goosechase getting different gaskets from three different auto parts stores, all from different manufacturers, to find that they all had the same 'problem'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted December 30, 2003 Author Share Posted December 30, 2003 Thanks Yo and 525 for the responses. I just really wish i knew which is suppose to be the correct way for this to be before i bolt the head down tomorrow night, well, tonight (now 2:10am). Guess i'll try posting on other boards to see if i get any other responces and will report if i find anything else out. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roggaman Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 From what I heard, there has been two different headgaskets for L28 and L28ET, but Nissan nowadays only has the later one in stock (the one with blocked water passages) and if I´m not misstaken, they fit all L28´s. So your gasket should be just fine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted December 31, 2003 Author Share Posted December 31, 2003 Hopefully, you can see what ports i'm talking about that will be covered in this pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 Jersey, do the covered spots carry through to the head too? If not, no big deal, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted January 2, 2004 Author Share Posted January 2, 2004 Yes, the top picture shows the head with the ports (red arrows) which line up with the ports (red arrows) in the block in the second picture down. I wouldn't be concerned if they didn't line up but they do and the gasket does not allow coolant to pass through these. Just find it odd, if not incorrect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad-ManQ45 Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 As a last resort, you may decide to pay for an HKS head gasket tha I'm sure will have the correct holes, but I am sure they are expensive. You could also get out your Exacto knife and cut the gasket holes yourself. I remember doing this on a 351C engine I had, on the suggestion of one of the Ford Hi-Perf book that I had. The only problem with this is that I seem to recall that there was some kind of (gas filled) o-ring as part of the turbo head gasket from a post on zcar.com. If this is true then the HKS route may be the best choice. OOPS - someone on ZCAR said they're not available any longer. Someone else said he knows someone who will make it for $100. However, I just looked in the Victoria British catalog and the is a head gasket for turbos and all NA engines built starting 3/81. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 yeah HKS gasket has all the holes, I think it's either $100 or $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carrman Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 I recommend using ONLY the OEM gasket from Nissan for the turbos. A long time Nissan parts guru buddy of mine ponted out the problems of opening up the coolant passages that are blocked, and he said the coolant flows through the head much to quickly to cool well. The OEM gasket fire rings are a continuous piece of metal. It's a much better gasket than the Fel Pro. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo2001 Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 I have had a problem with 5 and 6 cylinder running leaner so I like the extra water jacket by 5 and 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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