A place for more technical discussions. Please make sure you post in the correct section on the site, this way it keeps the site tidy AND ensures you get a more relevant answer.
I'm just fitting a new gasket to my 2003 Jimny 1.3. I've got an Elring gasket, which aligns perfectly everywhere except one hole near the front of the block, where the gasket has a small hole that doesn't align with the hole in the block which is also a larger size. See attached photo.
I've also looked at a Reinz gasket online and it appears to have the exact same cutouts.
Flip the head over and put the gasket against it - do the holes in the gasket line up with the holes in the head?
You need to be very careful how you install that gasket, if I recall correctly (it's been about 20 years since I had one of those apart), it can go on two ways, but only one way is correct - there's an oil passage I think at the timing belt end, one way blocks the passage, and the cam will seize in the head because of a lack of lubrication.
That's what I'm afraid of! But there is only on way to fit this. If I flip it then nothing lines up. The way I have it, all the holes line up perfectly except this one.
The holes on the head mirror the ones on the block.
All above is correct.
Some gaskets got the dreaded hole and some do not.
I too did a few gaskets back in the day. Punched a hole with a sharpened piece of tube once as it was that kind of gasket.
Looks like you can do that too, or use a sharp knife.
Thanks. I was thinking about it overnight and cutting it seems like the only way. Weirdly, looking at all the gaskets available online, from multiple manufacturers, all have the same identical cutout configuration, so the pattern must be for a slightly different head variant.
