u/IanMc192624

Long story short I dropped the heads to my 99 Isuzu rodeo off at the machine shop(6VD1). When I took them off and looked at the bottom side there was a stamp indicating someone had already took off 4 thou at some point. When I left the machine shop, I checked the repair manual and found out the max material removal for the heads is 7.9 thou. I got a call from the machinist saying he needs to take off another 5. That obv puts me 1.1 thou over the limit indicated in the repair manual. I checked a bunch of gasket sites for shims and oversized head gaskets, but I couldn’t find anything. This is a car that I drive 3 miles back and forth to work everyday. It’s not a motor that will see a ton of miles or stress. Will that 1.1 over make enough of a difference to justify calling a company and spending a bunch of money on a head gasket that’s maybe 2 thousandths thicker? Or should I just say fuck it and run it as is? I thought about finding some used heads, but I live on Oahu and there is nothing I can find on island. Also, I had the head pressure tested and they’re fine.

So my head gasket failed due to overheating and I removed the heads to replace it. I wanted to get the heads pressure tested and surfaced just in case they ended up being warped since they’re aluminum. There was a stamp on the bottom of the heads that indicated it’s been milled 4 thou at one point in its life. I checked the service manual and found out the max amount of removable surface is 7.9 thou. I got a call earlier today that they need to remove another 5 thou from the heads. That puts about 1.1 over the limit from the service manual. I started checking custom gasket websites for oversized head gaskets , but I couldn’t find my specific motor(6VD1 Isuzu). How much of a difference with that thousandth of an inch make if I had to reinstall it? I’m still looking for a thicker gasket, but so far I have had no luck. Do I have to call a place and give them the bore size to cut a completely custom gasket? Or could I get away with just throwing the head back on with a fel pro gasket? This is a 99 Isuzu Rodeo 3.2 liter.