Thread: Reuse head gasket that's barely run.

Hi I know this is a pretty stupid question but I would love your opinions.

I have just rebuilt my engine (300tdi) in the backyard and whilst rushing one late night in the dark I accidentally installed my head gasket upside down/ back to front. Went I started it yesterday it spewed oil everywhere from the front oil passage because the seal at that point is not symmetrical. The gasket I had is a three hole multi layer gasket which I know cannot be reused after a heat cycle. However I am wondering if anyone has ever tried reusing one that has only ever been clamped down. It only ran for about ten seconds so not much heat would have been made.

A new metal gasket is about 100 dollars delivered and would take a week to arrive.

Again I know this is a silly idea but is it worth a try?

This $200 discovery is turning into a $3,000 discovery.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Paint the gasket with silverfrost paint and try reusing it, what have you got to lose, apart from a bit of labour?
I have done and gotten away with the silver paint trick, but it was on an early Corolla with far less compression.

I’ve done it with copper coat, but never on a diesel.