how many steel shims can be stacked

[1320n10]

I just wanted to know if aneyone has used more than two with success. I have been having problems with the 1007s and would have to mill them off again. The intake will probably not line up if i mill more off therefore i would need more than two gaskets.

 

[Steve Wood]

I use only one on my cars...one of them, I had to mill the intake slightly the last go round but the heads had been decked several times..Only way I know is to set it in place and see if it fits or not.

 

[Jeasen]

I have used two and it did not work. This was with ARP head bolts. The gaskets leaked compression into the water jackets and also leaked between cylinders. If you plan to use more than one steel shim gasket I would suggest studs instead of bolts. The lesson I learned caused me a lot of work. Just my experience.
Jim

 

[Steve Wood]

Jim, did you use a very thin film of clear silicone on each side of the gaskets?

 

[Jeasen]

I used Hylamar gasket sealer. It comes in a spray can and seemed to be what everyone on the list was reccomending at the time. Gaskets were leaking compression into the water jackets and were also leaking between cylinders. I think the two stacked gaskets were to hard to compress with the head bolts. That is why I suggested studs. Studs are suppose to have a better clamping force. I really took my time when I put the motor together trying to do everything right using the best material. It just did not work. This time I used the Felpro 9441 head gaskets with ARP studs. Motor is still out of the car so no experience yet.

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

my stacked steels started leaking pretty bad ... i went to stock gaskets but during tear down since i was told my motor had to be the cause of my turbo failures (not true) i went back with single steel shim but my intake dont line up too great but i'll be fixing that soon . its running great with the singles motor seems more responsive with the comp. boost.

but intake does need to be milled to get my ports to line up again.

 

[azgn]

FYI, I had some leaks with my stacked steels...re torqued twice (backed off & torqued) and put the good old GM sealant tabs in...no leaks....long time now...did have to mill intake