when to use an mls head gasket.

at what compression would it be a good idea to use the mls gaskets instead of the felpro 1018 gasket...?

It'd depend a lot on the cyl. head.....that style gasket [1018] will hold big compression with an iron block and heads.

blue thunders,iron block. 13.5 comp ratio. my 1018's just blew between the cyls.

...also are you supposed to re torque the felpros?

torino501 wrote:...also are you supposed to re torque the felpros?

It'd help a lot to retq. after a heat cycle.

Was the tuneup safe?

When ya retorque them do ya mark them, loosen them and retorque or just try getting more on them where they are?

Loosen and pull back up i.m.o.

I would venture to say probably not.... it was throw together bout 10 yrs ago.never really tuned it properly.couldnt keep a trans together no more than a couple wide open shifts and it would lay down.it was an all wrong build up.it has a 1250 dommy on it out of the box I would have thought it had enough jet out of the box.i have the money to build it right this time as long as I don't have any piston damage.

imo it was probably more of a deal where gaskets were old and deteriating from age.But,when you refresh I would check deck surface and heads over well. Wouldn't be abit afraid to put new 1018's on it again. Hell,I have reused them on other builds before in a pinch w/o a problem.

what kind of deck finish should there be for the 1018's and the mls gaskets for that matter...?

The MLS gaskets require a very smooth, flat finish of a 50 RA (roughness average). 1018 type gaskets seem to like a slightly rougher finish. Here is a link to Cometic's web...tech..http://www.cometic.com/technical.aspx
I can assure you that MLS types will leak water with a rough finish.
My 14 to 1 Blue Thunder 514 has worked great with 1018s for many years...no retorque..
Keith 

torino501 wrote:what kind of deck finish should there be for the 1018's and the mls gaskets for that matter...?

thanks for the feed back kieth. i thought ive heard the 1018's were pretty tough.looks like this goround i really need to pay attention to detail.