Rebuilding the engine in my 92 Stealth.

It's a 3.0 SOHC that had a blown head gasket.

I had to have the block decked do to pitting on the block. As I am installing the Original pistons I noticed the pistons are above the deck at TDC. The head does not have a recess except for the valve pocket area.

If I bolted the heads on without a gasket the piston would hit the head. The head gasket MAY give me the clearance I need but I am checking ahead of the game.

Is this normal for those motors or do I need to replace the pistons with some below deck versions?

Thanks

Bryan

I just rebuilt mine but it is a DOHC Turbo. However that doesn't sound right to me, we build quench in the old Mopars using .050 or so.

Sheldon

Sweet car.

Mine's Black too, but it's a 92 Base model. I have those side skirts to put on it, but first I have to get it running again.

I have seen mixed reviews as to whether the pistons are above deck.

The piston is .035 above the deck and the old compressed head gasket is .055 thick (.050 on the cylinder that was blown).

This gives me a head to piston clearance of .015 to .02 assembled. I think I am screwed.

Still gonna ask, how much is safe on these engines?

I'm thinking it's too close so I am looking but I haven't found a "Thick/Helper" Head Gasket for this motor.

I agree with you that sounds scary.

Sheldon

I've never heard of doing it, but what if you used two gaskets,
it's worth a try rather than tossing the block or buying pistons that might be costly??

Joe

I have search the web and found no thick gaskets for my SOHC engine. I did for the DOHC but no luck on mine.

There is a company that sells .020 STEEL shims to shim the head that would do the trick

BUT

Has anyone ever used them? I've heard of Copper used with decent luck but Steel?

Does anyone know of where I could get the copper ones if they are better?

Any advice is much appreciated.

Why not take .030" - .035" off the top of the pistons?

I have thought of that but I am weighing options right now.

These are the stock pistons and I haven't checked on the cost/viability yet of cutting them. I am leaning towards cutting them.

The advantage of shims is I could have the engine back in the car and on the road in about 9 days.

Cutting the pistons would set me back at least a month longer because of my time constraints.

I am leaving all options open right now.

NIB $29.98 ea plus the ride. 020" thick. Only have the two. EDIT Missed that we ain't talkin SB.

have you checked out cometic head gaskets, pricey but they might make a head gasket that could solve your problem

They look great but they dont make them fora SOHC just the DOHC.

Nobody give the low end engines any love.

If you use steel I think you put a stock gasket on each side.

Isn't that a Mitzi motor? Check on one of their forums, maybe somebody there could help.

If Cometic doesn't make a thick gasket, cut the pistons or relieve the chambers in the heads.

Google copper head gaskets, if I remember right there's a company in Penn that will make any type or thickness up to 1/4 inch thick. Just o-ring the block if worried about sealing, they rent them. Use Hylomar blue spray to seal them.

deleted

I used one once on a 2.0 Mitsubishi turbo. It ran fine for a year then started using coolant. I don't know if it was the shim or if it cracked a head. The reason I used one in the first place is that my son had overheated to the point it had zero compression in all 4 cylinders. I cut the head beyond the recommended level. Hylomar was used per the instructions to seal coolant.
Doug

Relieving the head is not an option looking at the picture of his head. He might have to cut the piston, but then he may run in P to V clearance issue depending on how much was taken off the block?

How much was taken off the block and how far was the piston in the hole before the block was decked ?

No idea how much was removed but IIRC the pistons were close to flush if not below the deck.

I decided to bite the bullet and try the shims. Innovative machine has them in different thicknesses so I went with a .030 shim.

I would have preferred to cut the pistons but I would have to have them pressed off then cut or new pistons. It would have been new pistons. Then I would wanted it re-balanced, and with no guarantee the lower deck and shaved heads wouldn't cause valve to piston problems. If I was gonna sink $1500 more in this motor, I would just buy a DOHC car and part it into mine.

I would swap the block but the Stealth block has a different oiling system than the other Chrysler/Mitsu 3.0's because the engine is mounted reversed of the other. I may or may not have had to find another Stealth/3000GT block. They may interchange but I never could get a definite answer.

I may regret it but I am willing to gamble. The worst I am out is about $300 in parts if it fails and I have to build another engine anyway. I should get $300 worth of driving in before it blows the head gasket anyway.

Thanks for the advice

Wish me luck