Suzuki M15a Head Gasket - Do I have everything?!

[camelbend123]

Afternoon All

I've got an Ignis Sport engine in my buggy (M15a engine I believe).

Doing the head gasket on it in a few weekends, I've got new bolts, and the head gasket, anything else I should replace while it's apart? Not done a head before.

Any tips much appreciated!

[ScottieJ]

You will want a straight edge and feeler gauges to check the head for flatness, if it's out of spec you'll need to get it skimmed.

[Anton]

Last time I did a head I ground the valves with grinding paste to make sure they seat as well as possible, and replaced the valve stem seals because I was basically already there.

New intake and exhaust manifold gaskets obviously.

Only then did I realise that the head was warped and the reason it was chucking out smoke like a Tijuana sauna. I literally hid a single decker bus just by revving it for a couple of seconds.



So I got a new engine as that was much quicker and probably cheaper than skimming (there was a 60k 1.3 sitting in the junkyard in Erith, a few miles up the road, cost me £100).

So as Scottie says, check the head/block, but I'd say do it *first*!!!

[camelbend123]

Thanks guys, there's a little machine shop round the corner that'll skim the head for £20 so will get that done as a matter of course anyway.

Thanks for the tips.