Ford 860 Correct Head Gasket?

[strum456]

I got a Felpro 7761B1. My concern is that it doesn't have 2 oval shaped water holes that the original gasket had. It seems that someone else was having a similar issue (see link below), but I couldn't find a clear answer on the issue. This seems like the kind of thing that shouldn't be left to chance.

Just a Thought...861 Head Gasket - Yesterday's Tractors

 

[strum456]

Has anyone tried to put a Fel Pro head gasket on a 172 gas engine?

 

[strum456]

I am certian that somone else is going to run into this. Here is a reply directally from Fel Pro. I have to say that I am very impressed.

Thanks for your patience while we looked into this!

After finding some block & head pictures and comparing them to our gasket, we found some blocks do not have the oval passages that your block has. We also found a note in the parts file from 1995 that we changed our head gasket coolant hole design to reflect a change to Ford's head gasket. The change was the elimination of 5 coolant holes and the reason for removal of the oval coolant holes was to change the coolant flow through the head in high heat areas. This helps improve the life of the head gasket.

We strongly suggest that you do not make any changes in the coolant hole configuration. The gasket facing material will be damaged which will affect how the head gasket seals.

Do not apply any sealers or copper coat to this head gasket. It comes with a pre-applied silicone top coat.