Hello folks,

I am finally getting round to re-uniting the zetecs head with the block in my much neglected Escort but want something clarifying first. There might be a problem with the head gasket.
Pictured below is the head gasket sat on the block in all its pre-clamped glory.



Now the next two pics show a closer view of cylinders 1 & 2 and 3 & 4. Take a look at the passageways in the head gasket for the water jacket. They are much smaller on cylinders 1&2 than the jacket aperture itself but on cylinders 3 & 4 they are tiny, almost like pilot holes.





Now is this normal or do I have a faulty head gasket? I was considering cutting the material away to completely open up the water channels on all cylinders. Does this sound wise or is the restriction on those cylinders there for a reason?

Cheers for the help,

Smiler.

 

It's there for a reason, the head gasket is fine, don't go chopping stuff about.
tabetha

 

the head gasket is designed to help water flow more evenly across the engine and reduce heatspots.
perfectly normal.

 

Makes sense to me, they just seemed a bit too small. It is now half fitted. I say only half fitted as I have since discovered that I've misplaced the mondeo haynes manual for the engine and so don't have the torque figures. oh well, best start a new thread then!