Head Gasket shape

[Alex FarrParticipant]

Hi all,

My 11BL is currently in the garage having its engine rebuilt. I was sent an image that gave me pause, and I was hoping someone here might be able to help.

The cylinder holes in the head gasket are not perfectly round, they appear to be pear-shaped. This struck me as odd. I’ve now bought two head gaskets and both are the same, and a quick look at images online confirms it’s consistent across the board, so I’m ruling out a manufacturing defect. But it does still seem strange.

My question is: why are the cylinder holes pear-shaped rather than round? And would the resulting irregular space within the combustion chamber risk creating a hot spot or cause any other issues?

I’ve attached the photo below — take a look and let me know your thoughts!

p.s. this car is now to me, and i am still learning about tractions so any information welcomed.

• This topic was modified 3 days, 6 hours ago by Alex Farr.

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[ChrisParticipant]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Hi Alex</p>
I went back through the photos and the gasket I removed from my engine was just like that. That was built in the ‘80s.

i don’t know but I suspect the reason is to accommodate positioning errors which would likely be greater along the axis of the engine block than across it.

anyway – nothing to worry about.

Chris

[Author]

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