Parts required & recommended for DIY headgasket change

[Matt-Rallye]

Evening folks!

Going to be attempting a headgasket change on the rallye in a few weeks, looking for recommendations on what to buy and hopefully the best place to buy it without getting ripped off!

I know i will obviously need the following at the least:

Full service kit
Top end gasket set & headbolts
Cambelt & waterpump kit inc idlers / tensioners

And i will be also having the head dropped off for cleaning, pressure testing and skimming if required. Also depending on budget and availability i may get the local engine builder to have a look at doing some minor headwork if it will be beneficial


Anything else you guys would recommend i do? or anything i may have overlooked? Thanks

[Stef205]

Warning on head work on rs heads, they are good in std form you can make it worse.

Victor reinz is oem brand gasket mls.
I’m sure any decent brand cambelt kit and pump will be good.
I can recommend victor reinz or glaser headbolts

[Matt-Rallye]

Warning on head work on rs heads, they are good in std form you can make it worse.

Victor reinz is oem brand gasket mls.
I’m sure any decent brand cambelt kit and pump will be good.
I can recommend victor reinz or glaser headbolts

Thanks stef! Any recommendations on where to get the bits? i know you have recently done all of this with your 205

[miles]

Peugeot is normally the cheapest place for a HG or I can supply it all, You might also need exhaust studs and nuts as these are normally in a bad way, Never had a Peugeot head pressure tested as they never seem to give any issues there unless a Derv,
Belt kit (Any) Water pumps I have a stk of OE ones which are better than any aftermarket one

With the RS head's no work is needed, if anything the ports are too big on a std car, Just look at the TU or EW 16v engine's. all like the Duratec engine's with small ports for better torque and midrange but still make good power

[Matt-Rallye]

Peugeot is normally the cheapest place for a HG or I can supply it all, You might also need exhaust studs and nuts as these are normally in a bad way, Never had a Peugeot head pressure tested as they never seem to give any issues there unless a Derv,
Belt kit (Any) Water pumps I have a stk of OE ones which are better than any aftermarket one

With the RS head's no work is needed, if anything the ports are too big on a std car, Just look at the TU or EW 16v engine's. all like the Duratec engine's with small ports for better torque and midrange but still make good power

If you can compete with peugeots pricing and are supplying genuine stuff then i'd much rather you have my hard earned than some faceless peugeot dealership   Could you post or pm me a price inc VAT & p+p for everything i'll need for headgasket & belt change please? would like the new exhaust studs & nuts also.

[welshpug]

i would also recommend oem gasket, same price as aftermarket and better quality.

belt and water pump from a dealer is under £100, bolts and cam seals etc i would use Payen, significant saving over oem and very good quality.

ed and Steve at warners Tewkesbury are good lads and will often do discount and do post stuff.

the only thing i would have done to the RS head is 3 angle seat cut and valves to match, itll clean up the throat of tge port where the valve seat is, i can post a pic tomorrow of what South wales pistons did on mine (they do very good prices on payen stuff too)

as mentioned the head is very good, Im running about 240 through mine with a standard manifold and head casting.

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oh and be very careful with skimming, 0.20 is the max you can take, 137mm is a stock head from memory, if you want to run cams etc you'll be knackered without modified valve cutouts in the pistons.

[cully]

std head gasket for the RS is 1.2mm thick MLS
if the heads skimmed to the max the J4 engine uses a 1.4mm fibre head gasket as std

[Mighty306]

Are you sure Cully?  I thought the standard fibre gasket for the J4R was 1.2mm and the repair gasket is 1.4mm?

   

[cully]

yep sorry repair gasket not std
there is no repair gasket listed from peugeot for the RS head @ MLS 1.4mm

there may be others available in 1.4mm MLS but i couldnt find one when i built my engine

[Stef205]

Warning on head work on rs heads, they are good in std form you can make it worse.

Victor reinz is oem brand gasket mls.
I’m sure any decent brand cambelt kit and pump will be good.
I can recommend victor reinz or glaser headbolts

Thanks stef! Any recommendations on where to get the bits? i know you have recently done all of this with your 205

Yes I have 
Autodoc is where I got all mine from.

[welshpug]

citroen list that 1.4mm gasket under the zx for the j4rs engine.

[cully]

citroen list that 1.4mm gasket under the zx for the j4rs engine.

and being a MLS gasket?
good to know if it is
thanks

[welshpug]

i doubt it is, I did ask how much it was, but went for standard and modified cutouts instead, it was more expensive.

[Stef205]

the 1.4 is a repair gasket and fiber

[Mighty306]

Just curious, how does a fibre gasket hold up on a J4RS? I guess one advantage is the head skim doesn't have to be perfect to a few microns.

[welshpug]

just fine, I've used a few where the heads have been corroded and needed a heavier skim.

i figure if the 405 T16 engine ran 1.25 bar on a fibre gasket without any history of issues theyll be fine on a standard gti6.

[cully]

Im running a 1.4 fibre nothing but Vpower, Lead foot driving and track time for the last 2 years

[Stef205]

My sc lump obliterated one after 4 years

[Mighty306]

Cheers for entertaining my curiosity guys. Sounds like they don't do too badly! Ive noticed from Autodoc that many aftermarket gaskets come in a variety of thicknesses between 1.2 & 1.4mm. Worryingly, Elring supply a gasket with an installed thickness of less than 1.2mm!!!

[Stef205]

stick with mls, ive only used victor reinz gaskets quality seems very good.

[Eeyore]

great info in this thread. Anyone able to consolidate in the guides section with a few part numbers and links?

[cully]

great info in this thread. Anyone able to consolidate in the guides section with a few part numbers and links?

most of the info is already there 
the search function is shit!
have you tried searching for MLS or HDI or XUD

[welshpug]

if you don't need a repair gasket use an oem one, from a dealer.

[miles]

Any pricing please send me a message, Cometic do MLS gaskets all loads of thickness's, bit more expensive thou