Topic: Anybody ever had any problems with Fel-Pro head gaskets?

[91 super yoda]

ive got some weird combinations of stuff going on here. for starters its a 94 22re in a 91. all i did with the motor before i put it in was a timing chain and a head gasket.

it starts fine and runs fine until it warms up and then all of a sudden the oil pressure drops off slowly until it doesnt register at all and it will begin to overheat until i kill it, let it cool, then start it back up and it runs fine again and the temp will hold in the middle with the oil pressure at a little less than half.(i know that is normal at idle). it will hold there for about 5-10 min and the same problem will come back. while the oil pressure is dropping it will pull a large amount of vacum from the valve cover (replaced pcv, no dice) and if you pull off the oil cap it will run rough and try to die, enough vacum to suck your palm to the valve cover. that was a WTF moment for me

the engine belonged to my brother so i know what has been done to it. the water pump is new, thermostat is new, radiator flows well, its full of new oil and new filter, and the compression checks out ok (at first i thought it could be a broken ring and negativly compressing air in the crank case and in turn creating a vacum)

my next guess was that the oil may not be draining properly from the top to the bottom and the oil pump is sucking air and pulling a vacum inside the crank case, but that doesnt explain why it would spit and sputter when i pulled the oil cap off. again wtf

[jimbo74]

fel pro head gaskets suck!



only use multi layer steel gaskets.... OEM is the best, the stuff that engnbldr.com sells is also very good


FELPRO HEAD GASKETS ARE CRAP AND SUCK!

[lilbuddy]

fel pro head gaskets suck!



only use multi layer steel gaskets.... OEM is the best, the stuff that engnbldr.com sells is also very good


FELPRO HEAD GASKETS ARE CRAP AND SUCK!

Pretty much jimbo said it all.

I ran one fel pro head gasket and it was fine but I must have been one of the lucky people because even when I put it in, i knew that there is a high chance it will be no good pretty quick.

[91 super yoda [OP]]

thanks for the input, but knowing that they suck doesnt really help me. any suggestions besides replacing the head gasket?

[79coyotefrg]

pull the pan,  and  make  sure  nothing is wrong in there,  sounds like the felpro already blew

[WHITE_TRASH]

The first HG I did on my truck was a fel pro and it seperated around the #4 cylinder about 2 months after I put it in.   I have had great success with felpro in the past on all kinds of engines except imported ones with aluminum heads.  Toyota or Rock from engnbldr.com are the only ones to use.

[91 super yoda [OP]]

this gasket has about 10 miles on it, and i know for a fact that it is on there right. it doesnt make sense that it will run fine for a random period of time and then lose oil pressure and overheat.

i dont think the gasket is already blown because it runs way too good to act up.

could it be that it takes it a wile for the head to expand after the engine is warm and then the gasket temporaily fails until it cools again. in other words the gasket is only good on a cool or moderately warm engine.

[WHITE_TRASH]

Any chance you have the timing off, maybe the vacuum lines aswell?  Oh and have you retorqued the head as of yet?

[91 super yoda [OP]]

have not retorqued yet, vacum lines are good, had my other truck parked right next it for a reference, and timing is on.

[Duffil]

i have blown a couple of felpro gaskets, Victor gaskets hold up pretty damn good. 

[Tallchevy]

Are you getting oil/water transfer? Try using a mechanical oil pressure gauge to check the oil pressure. You might have the wrong oil pressure sensor in the block, make sure you use the one that was in your truck before the engine swap. Did you reconnect all the grounds from the back of the cylinder head to cab, engine block to frame etc? I would all this before condeming the head gasket just cause it's a Felpro. I rebuilt the engine in my 1st gen daily driver& had it for a year before I sold it to a friend 2 years ago that uses it as a daily driver & is still driving it today & it has a Felpro head gasket. But if it turns out to be the head gasket then run the Toyota factory head gasket.

if you pull off the oil cap it will run rough and try to die, enough vacum to suck your palm to the valve cover. that was a WTF moment for me

This is normal. I had a 90 with a 22re that I bought new & I left the oil cap off when I did the oil change  & it ran like  I put the oil cap back on & it was fine. I got 160,000 out of that engine before the truck was stolen 

my next guess was that the oil may not be draining properly from the top to the bottom and the oil pump is sucking air and pulling a vacum inside the crank case, but that doesnt explain why it would spit and sputter when i pulled the oil cap off. again wtf

The oil pump doesn't pull that much suction.

[91 super yoda [OP]]

yes i swapped all gauge components from the 91 motor to the 94. there is no oil/water transfer, the grounds are good, ive got 3 22RE trucks and none of them sputter or pull a vacum when the oil cap is off. its been raining all day and havent been able to go out and fiddle. but my plans are to pull the valve cover and run something down the head through the oil ports to see if they are clogged or blocked off by te head gasket.

[79coyotefrg]

Randy,  it sounds  like one of the oil ports in the block  might be totally blocked

run some seafoam thru it  and see if that helps at all

[halfxspaid]

I ran a fel-pro head gasket for two years with no problems at all.
Replaced engine with new block and head and used a rock gasket. 

[91 super yoda [OP]]

ok, well so far i think ive got everything worked out. it was overheating because the fan clutch was bad. and im thinking it was loosing oil pressure due to crappy type of oil. i added an additve and the pressure magically came back. its a good thing i didnt pull the head off again.