What brand head gasket should I buy?

[djwarner]

Ok, since getting my Series I about a year ago, I've had a nagging problem of oil consumption. Been systematically sorting things out and here is what I've found.

History - Original E31 Head was rebuilt in 2003. Believe the head was milled because the documentation said head could not be rebuilt again because of corrosion. The PO got the car back on the road after a 2 year period sitting in a garage. PO's father said there had been a coolant leak at the head gasket that was solved by re-torqueing the head bolts. I found some evidence of oil leaking at the head gasket between the #3 and #4 cylinders above the oil filter, but it was never more than a stain.

I have driven the car some 11K miles over the last year and have been adding a quart every 300-400 miles. I now have 178K on the odometer. Replacing the valve guide seals eliminated the puff of blue smoke after idling for a red light. Systematically verified no leak in the front or rear crank seals and eliminated any seepage around the oil pan by re-torqueing the those bolts.

I have been changing the oil and filter every 1,000 miles to eliminate any silt or sludge. Have tried to free the oil control rings by adding an ounce of ATF to each cylinder, then repeated with MMO to no avail. New PCV valve and NOS braided PCV hose. I can easily blow back into the crankcase from the PVC hose indicating no blockage in the baffles. The PCV hose and Valve Cover hose are clean and dry. I connected a sensitive digital manometer to the small fitting on the crankcase vent tube (pcv hose attachpoint). This fitting is used for the fuel tank evaporative control system. The pressure in the PCV hose never rose more than 0.02 mmHg. Suction at the PCV fitting checked good.

Valves and compression rings appear good to very good. Pulls a steady 19.5" vacuum at idle. Compression checks 205-210 psi on all cylinders. Thinking the high compression may be due to coke accumulation and a shaved head, I have performed Seafoam treatment three times. Most of the carbon(coke) on the piston tops is now gone with the exception of the #3 Cylinder which had the heaviest coking to begin with.

After the Seafoam treatment, I replaced the Bosc Platinum plugs with the recommended NGK plugs. Checking every 100 miles, the #3 plug has some evidence of oil fouling while the others are clean. For the last oil change I used 15W40 Diesel oil and thought I had finally gotten some relief. This was contra-indicated when I realized that the previous 300 miles was around town driving. Once I got the car back on the highway, oil consumption resumed at the previous rates.

After a highway trip, I popped open the hood and discovered fresh oil traces above the oil filter (between the #3 and #4 cylinders). I de-greased the area as best I could thinking I would tape on a plastic envelope to so I could measure the seepage rate. But the oil present prevented any tape from sticking. After this, I decided to coat the area with children's sidewalk chalk to verify the seepage. Sure enough, at low speeds, little or no seepage. At highway speeds, the area shows damp to wet.

So the leakage appears to be at the oil galley supplying the cylinder head. With leakage occurring with a hot engine and moderately high oil pressure. Doing research on this forum, it would seem that the next step would be to re-torque the head bolts before doing anything more drastic. Considering that the PO and his father were not professional mechanics, I have no assurance of their work. I been putting off the re-torque until I would have time to be without the car for a while if I broke off a head bolt. But I will probably attack it this week.

Assuming the re-torque does not solve the problem, I've been researching the head gaskets. Fel-Pro appears the least expensive version but a spotty performance record. Others brands are DNJ, Stone, Beck Arnley, Victor Reinz, and Ishino ( a Japanese OEM manufacturer). Nissan head gasket kits have been revised 3 times but appear to be NLA.

Looking at pictures of the various brands, there are significant differences in profiles almost as if they back engineered their head gaskets according to the various revisions of the Nissan gasket.

I'm not trying to soup this engine up, just seeking to avoid tearing into the bottom end if I don't need to. While the oil control rings could be bad, I would think a head gasket replacement would be a logical step before that.

Any informed opinions about the various brands?

Edited September 8, 2013 by djwarner

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I have never had a bad Fel Pro gasket, but having said that, why not use an OEM Datsun gasket.

give Courtesy parts a call

Courtesy Nissan in Richardson| New & Used Car Dealer Near Dallas | Service, Parts, Finance

They may have an OEM gasket for you

[Marty Rogan]

Do you have a CarQuest auto Parts near you? They have an "OEM Line" of parts. I believe they carry the Ishino, which they said is what Nissan would supply at the Dealers. They are a lot cheaper than the Nissan Dealers too.

Marty

[Jeff G 78]

I use FelPro in my race car and have had no issues. Just don't ever buy ITM gaskets. They are terrible.

[Virto]

Ishino is very likely the OEM manufacturer. Buying the gasket from the dealer just means paying more for the NISSAN cardboard backing. I have to second Marty's idea, if you have access to a carquest.

And now off-topic, Marty, how did I not realize you were so close by?

[hr369]

Was a compression/leakdown test ever done?

[djwarner]

Thanks for the info.

hr369.... Don't have the equipment readily available. With good compression and valve sealing what would I detect?

We have a Car Quest in the area but didn't think to check with them. The images of the Ishino gasket has smaller holes for the oil and coolant compared to the Fel Pro.

Zedyone.... Local Nissan Dealer can get the head gasket for $89 plus priority shipping. Courtesy has it for $68. They also have a Nissan head gasket set for Something over $240.

Just what will I need, some have suggested changing the head bolts and exhaust manifold bolts as well. Any anti-seize paste?

[madkaw]

Nismo from Courtesy is 125$ I think. If I thought the best gasket would help I wouldn't hesitate to spend the money. I put a Nismo on mine though I hated to spend the money. After blowing a Felpro with no known cause , I wasn't taking chances. Haven't had any relapses with the Nismo.