im am rebuildin my '85 318. and i bought new head gaskets about a month ago and they are missing 3 holes for the coolent and one hole for the oil and on the packagin it specifically says for a 85 318 and i went to a different auto parts store for different ones and they have the same problem.
whats goin on then, or what should i do?
Speed Dragon
05-22-2006, 01:33 AM
You sure it's an '85 block? Shouldn't make any difference though, I think all smallblocks are the same up tothe new Magnum engines.
It;s been a while since I looked at one, I can't remember if I ran into anything like that or not. Are they major holes?
1985power_ram
05-22-2006, 07:35 AM
im pretty sure, its the motor out of that truck. Is there a way to check what year the block is from the numbers on it?
Speed Dragon
05-22-2006, 09:16 AM
Yeah, it should be marked on the right side of the block I think? Passenger side. Should say the day/month/year it was made.
1985power_ram
05-22-2006, 07:45 PM
i just checked it the numbers are 4/5/78
so i guess that block is from 1978
would that be the reason for the head gaskets not fitting?
Dodgevanman
05-22-2006, 08:06 PM
I just checked the Fel-Pro part numbers for an '85 and '78 318 and according to Fel-Pro, the part number is 8553PT for both engines. I've used these many times and haven't run into any problems.
1985power_ram
05-22-2006, 08:39 PM
those are the ones i got, but if your look in that pic to the top and bottom left where the bolt holes are, on the bottom of the pic it shows a coolent hole and if your look at the top of the pic its not there(i called the original owner of the truck and he said he had a short block put in, so that explains that)
Speed Dragon
05-22-2006, 11:02 PM
Try flipping the gasket upside down maybe, see if it lines up that way. I don't think it matters which way they go on, and there may be a passage at one end and not at the other.
1985power_ram
05-23-2006, 07:35 AM
would it be ok to run it with those holes missing?
i threw out the old ones about a month ago when i started on it, so i cant check them.
Moparfreak1980
05-23-2006, 10:14 AM
some engines are diffrent from cars to trucks as well
1985power_ram
05-23-2006, 11:04 AM
yeah i also noticed on the packaging it says for chrysler/dodge 318 and dodge truck 318la, i dont know if that would make a difference
Dodgevanman
05-23-2006, 11:33 AM
No, not at all.
1985power_ram
05-24-2006, 12:21 PM
i put the new ones in and im just gonna try it that way and see what happens when i put it back in
