Questions and Answers

Voyager Head Gaskets Q. Dear Vincent Ciulla, I have a 1987 Plymouth Voyager, 3.0 liter V-6 engine with nearly 171,000 miles on it. One head measures within the .002" maximum warp specification, the other is at .003". This will be the third set of head gaskets to be replaced on this vehicle. The body is in good shape (Florida vehicle) so I would like to get whatever else I can out of the engine as it ran well up until head gasket trouble.

I believe from inspecting the last gasket set, that the coolant port holes in the gaskets were too small (didn't match manifold or block port size and shape) and that this caused the over heating and subsequent gasket failure. Do you have any recommendations on the brand or type of gasket that may function the best with this situation? If not, would you guess that the .003" warp in the one head will lead to failure again?

Thanks for any assistance you can give.
Len

A. According to Chrysler, the maximum allowable warpage is 0.008" inch. So you are well within specifications. I would get the head gaskets from Chrysler. They had a modified gasket for those engines and aftermarket gaskets may not be the modified version. it is normal sometimes to see an opening in a head gasket to be smaller than the hole it covers. Especially in cooling passages. This is done to slow down the flow of coolant so it will pick up heat from the head more effectively.

Also, be sure you tighten the head bolts in the proper order. When you tighten the head bolts do it in three passes. First torque them to 40 foot pounds. Then to 60 foot pounds and finally to 80 foot pounds.

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