pics

thanks for the advice falcon the guy at the parts store told me the oem gaskets were mls and so is the felpro set but i dont know about cometic hgs should i return the felpro set and add cometic hg to my ARPs hb order

geez it seems like i get more pissed off grammar teachers then ppl that actually have half way decent advice lol well anyways here is the side of the pistons

holycrapimadeitonursigcheersmate


You know how when you first meet a person you make an impression (good or bad)? On the forums, typing properly and with correct grammar shows not only that you're mature but also that you care what you write down and as well for the people reading your posts. That is the impression on the forums. I'm quite surprised barely any one has posted here. You'd get a lot more "halfway decent advice" if you actually put some effort into your posts.

OEM for a 90-93 is a graphite composite.
Fel-Pro 9691 is a graphite composite.

What kind of gasket was the head/block prepped for? That would make the biggest difference to me in regards to what gasket I used.

I assure you that all the parts machined were done with MLS gaskets in mind. The guy at advance told me that with the felpro MLS gaskets the heads and block MUST BE absolutely flat and even since it simply sits on the block. With that in mind i was on top of the guys at the machine shop and made sure they handled it right, but then again they can say anything they want... is there a way i can check there work? As soon as i have the felpro hg in hand ill snap a few pictures and get some opinions on what it is if i cant tell, but i should be able to know if its composite or muti-layer steel just by touch.

All correct. It's not just flatness though, it's also surface finish.
There isn't too much you can do without spending a decent amount of money.
I will guarantee the Fel-Pro part for a 1.6L engine is a graphite composite because I've handled them before. Cometic is the only MLS for the 1.6L that I can think of.

Sadly you cannot unless you have a pure straight straight edge (expensive). Worse is many shops will play the blame game. That's why the shop has to be reputable. For example, you put everything together and it's not straight. Most of the time they will say you warped it on assembly and will not resurface it unless you pay extra.

Well from what I can see in the pics you posted,

1) The head was not belt surfaced, so thats good
2) The blue layout dye in the combustion chamber, means to me, That an old school stone valve seat grinder was used, They are ok at best.
3) The scribed the valves heads, Personally I do not like that, but for NA you should be ok
4) The scuffing on the pistons is a concern, and the pistons should be Mic'ed,and checked for collaspe, and PTW figured.

But all in all you should be ok for a little hone and go rebuild.

Yeah, please work on breaking things up into sentances and paragraphs, It helps.
I am awful with spelling and grammer myself. But try.

Umm i have no idea what you said about the pistons lol but since you said im ok for rebuild im guessing they wont need to be replaced rite now. Also i have the felpro hg and its not MLS... im a bit upset since the guy at the store swor it was ganna be MLS look like its ganna have to be returned asap.

I found a cometic hg set online for about the same price as the felpro set. I found it on a website called THMotorsports, has anyone ordered anything from these guys and are the items they sell the real deal or a knock off?

Update: Just waiting for my megan motor mounts and arp head bolts from ebay.

First since you are NA, the felpro composite will be just fine, and more forgiving to surface imperfections than the any MLS.

Read this...

How to mic a piston
https://www.miataturbo.net/showthrea...556#post866556

With you being a 1990 1.6l your std bore should be 3.071 or 78mm

The spec I have on PTW is .0015-.002

The piston should mic 3.068-3.0685

Add in minimal wear of the block of, say .002 for wear and hone

Your PTW should be in the range of .0035-.004

But this is a guess, it depends on what you get when you measure the pistons, then measure the block.

Block measurement - piston measurement = PTW

Also remember that for every .001 the block bore is opened up you gain Pi on your ring end gap

Pi = 3.141

so .002 x 3.141 = .006282

Std ring gap is .006-.012

So your ring gap will fall into .012-.018

Max ring gap is .039

Now with this. Go measure the pistons and block and report back

Thanks for the info bogussvo.

You can have too smooth of a surface finish though which is what is worrying me. I can't remember the Ra numbers offhand but a surface prepped for MLS will not be in the proper range for a graphite composite.

1.8L factory gasket is MLS. 1.6L is not.

The MLS head gasket from the 2000 protege 1.6L will interchange with our 1.6L motors. I know because its what I have. It was $30 or something at autozone. This is also being you have lower compression pistions, not sure if its compatible with stock pistons.
-Mike

njn63, You are more apt to have a composite gasket seal with the block/head milled to a MLS surface finish, than have a MLS gasket seal with a block/head finoshed for a composite.

In all honesty, you can even get too smooth of a finish that a MLS will not seal.

I've got a quick question, i have the SNC on my 1.6 but there is no problems with it atm, should i still do the loctite 242 repair or leave it be?

I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip.
Yeah, I know. It's just not recommended and if he's doing all this work he might as well do it right. It'd probably be fine.

Decided im just going to put this thing together tomorrow. Im ganna use the felpro set and ganna add the 242 locktite. I dont think ill have any issues, ive been workin on this car longer then ive been driving it lol... kinda sad actually...

Ive also decided since im not going to go down the force induction route atm im going to go the lotus route, handling will be my main focus, although it will be a daily driver so i will still need some degree of comfort.

The engine is installed but these two cables are loose and i have no idea where they go. The plugs are on the rear left side of the motor near the injectors but i dont see anyplace to plug them into.
The previous owner had done something to the last two injectors at some point because the wires were cut then put back together by hand, maybe there is a connector missing from there or something.
A little help would be great keep in mind its the 1.6 motor thank you.