Morris Minor Owners Club

Right, this may be another silly question but forgive me as I'm juasta beginner!

What does the head gasket actually do?

Basically it seals the gap between block and head and stops your water and oil mixing together.....

And keeps the compression in! Some racing engines don't have one - the head and block are very carefully ground and then lapped together to form a perfect seal. I don't suggest this will work with the A series engine !

are you suggesting that the A series is not a racing engine? Mine is always racing, just to keep up with other traffic.

I wouldn't recommend using silicon sealant in place of a proper gasket, like Rover used on the K series. It doesn't seal very well, like a lot of people found out including myself.

Silicon sealer ??? Did they ? I know replacement head sets for the K engine are v expensive, and the long bolts should always be renewed at the same time - they are designed to stretch beyond the elastic limit when tightened. makes a head removal/replacement a v costly business.

Yes they did... it was red in colour. A machine used to squidge it out along a predetermined path then the head was squished on. Land Rover offered a replacement under warranty which is probably the one you are thinking of. These are proper gaskets and should have been used originally.... shame really such silly cost cutting ruined a fairly decent company.

Good grief! I think the MGF always had a proper head gasket ?