I am going to be replacing my head gasket soon because i have a small leak, now while i had the head off, i was going to have it sent out, and get it adjusted, pollished etc. i didn't think there would be a problem with this, but my dad is saying that if i send out the head, the increases in pressure/commpression could throwout the bottom end, and he says i need to do the whole engine. i know it would be better if i did, but i dont have the time/money/or tools to take the whole block out. the car is a 95 civic ex, d16z6 witha 5 speed. the car had 135000 miles on it. so what is your say, should i have my head sent out, or leave it alone?

 

send it out.........the added compression wont affect the engine in a noticable way. id take advantage of the slight gain in compression by milling the head and also having a true surface for the headgasket to seal on. although you dad may want the best for your car, does he not realize that most shops mill the head when doing a head gasket anyways?

 

he is not totaly familliar with the current procedures, he just knows from experience when he was younger, but like i thought, it shouldnt affect it much

 

It has to be milled anyways, so you might as well mill it a little further and get some free compression.

 

so even if i get it milled a lil bit extra, i dont have to worry about blowing the bottom end? and also if i get it milled, do i need to use higher octane gas?

 

your not talking about jacking up the compression that much, your bottom end will not go out, and you can run the same gas. Now, if you were throwing in some p29 pistons and milling the head, i would definitely be cautious, but your good to go

 

ok, so im gonna get the head sent out, now, what knid of gasket should i be using, is one brand better then the other, and what thickness should it be?

and another question, if i take off the head, i need new head bolts too, right?

sorry about all the stupid questions, totally new grounds for me

 

any one got any suggesstions?

 

yes you need new head bolts. ARP.

 

ok, thanks for the help guys, just one lat question before i do this, what head gasket, my friend swears by felpro gaskets, but then again he i talking about totally different engines, so what do you guys recomend?