So the crap in my has tank made its way to the carb, which made it run like crap and destroyed the carb. I sent the carb back to Guaranteed Carburetors and they ripped it apart, cleaned it, replaced a couple things, and sent it back, only costing me the shipping to them. That was nice and easy.

Now it runs great, but still seems to be lacking. I did some fine tuning on the carb using a vacuum gauge and at idle, the gauge bounces between 18 and 19 inches. So now I'm thinking it's got something to do with the valvetrain. I've also got an issue with revs. It will not go above 4000 rpms.

I've also got an oil leak and the bottom of the intake manifold is wet. From what i can tell, the head gasket is leaking and the pressure from the cylinders is enough to make oil and/or coolant spray out and across the bottom of the manifold.

So at this point, I'm looking at the lash adjusters and a head gasket. I'm just trying to decide if i want to do just those, or go ahead and pony up the dough for a Clearwater head. My question is, what's the best for replacement adjusters and the gasket? When i get the gasket, I'd like to just get a full upper engine set and call it good on those. Thanks in advance.

You can always try re torquing the head bolts for a temp fix.

Also, keep the head gasket to a fellow in my opinion. The other gaskets aren't as critical.

Get a Felpro head gasket. The lash adjusters you can buy just about any brand but some are produced with a plastic retaining ring. DO NOT use those. Get the hydraulic lash adjusters with the steel ring.

The FelPro gasket for the turbo 2.6 has been said to have fewer problems than the non-turbo gasket.

I've used the turbo gasket the last couple of times I did a 2.6 cylinder head re-mount. There's some talk on the StarQuest boards that actually go the other way to saying the Fel-Pro non-turbo gasket is more forgiving to slight imperfections in the head and/or the block surface. I like the toughness of the turbo head gasket, though.

Tap the head bolts holes (12x1.25), vacuum them out, clean them thoroughly and use new head bolts. I can't say that enough.

John B.

There's always talk of one felpro being better than the other with no actual scientific or factual evidence to back up either claim. Just goes to show both work really well. Just make sure you pick,one of the two, not some dnj head gasket.

I pulled and cleaned the lash adjusters and there was a slightly better difference, but still not 100%. As for the head gasket, I gotta hold off for now. I think I'm gonna save up and get the Clearwater head with a new cam.

I'm tempted to drive it down to the emissions place and try it, but I don't have any temp tags available. It's only 2 miles and I would be able to drive side streets, but I don't know if they would do it without a tag or valid plate. Do any of you know if I could test it without a temp tag?

My other option would be to drag it to Colorado and get a drivers license and register it at my buddies place in Bayfield (half hour east of Durango), which has no emissions. I plan on moving up there anyway within the next year to year and a half.

Hate to say it, but I'm kinda stuck at this point. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

You don't need a current tag to get the emissions tested in AZ. Your only issue is getting pulled over on the way there and back - something you should probably be able to talk your way out of if you've got some paperwork with you and a good attitude.

As a former LEO, a good attitude, a good story, and insurance and you were good to go. What he said.

Alright, I'll try to give it a go Monday. I thought about it yesterday, but between not being sure of the tag and the fact that it was the first of the month, I figured it to be too big of a hassle to attempt the risk.