Which headgasket to buy?

[5150 will]

Well, it looks like my headgasket is about toast and getting worse. I still have some diagnostics to do before pulling the head, but I'm wondering what brand gasket people here have had good luck or bad luck with? I've seen them @ MSA for $22.50 and at Courtesy Nissan for $150......any suggestions? My motor is a stock original L24 with 81k miles if it matters.

[madkaw]

Good question! I have been o such quest recently. I know that you don't want a Victor reinz gasket-fiber board junk. The one MSA sells could be a Fel-Pro, which folks have had good luck with and you can order at your local Autozone and save shipping. I doubt the one MSA sells is a Nissan gasket, because obviously you have searched that and found out it is 150$. I guess it's one of those deals that you might be getting what you paid for. I blew my gasket for no obvious reason and it looked to be a decent graphite impregnated gasket-but from where I don't know-but I do know it wasn't a 150$ nissan gasket. I went the expensive route, but then again I have probably 3500$ ++ in my head and motor. There has been talk of this on Hybridz also lately.

[5150 will]

Thanks Steve. I'm not looking for the "cheap" way out, but wondering if people that have done this job have had issues with other than the Nissan gasket(Fel Pro, etc). I just want to do it right the first time.

[madkaw]

I would say that you can not go wrong with the Nissan gasket. Everything else is a ?

A 71 will have pretty good compression, which the Nissan gasket might lower a tad, but you probably won't notice it.

[Reverend]

I have the MSA gasket. Been driving over 1000 miles with it and no problems.

[5150 will]

SCORE>>>> I found the Nissan H.G. from a reliable vendor on ebay for $50!!! I'm happy. Time to tear it down...