When a cylinder head gasket fails, it rarely does so discreetly. The head gasket seals the combustion chambers from the water jacket and oil galleries simultaneously, and a breach in any of those zones produces a distinctive set of symptoms: white steam from the exhaust, a sweet smell from coolant burning in the combustion chamber, oil contaminated with coolant forming a grey sludge on the dipstick, or unexplained coolant loss with no external sign of leakage. A full gasket kit for the cylinder head includes not just the head gasket itself but the valve stem seals, inlet and exhaust manifold gaskets, camshaft cover gasket, and all auxiliary sealing rings needed to fully reassemble the top end — buying them as a kit avoids hunting individually for the minor seals that are easily overlooked until the engine is back together. The correct OE number is critical because gasket thickness is calibrated to the specific piston protrusion height for each engine variant, and a mismatched gasket alters compression ratio and risks valve-to-piston contact. Elring and Victor Reinz are the dominant OE suppliers for European passenger car engines; AJUSA covers an exceptionally wide range including specialist diesel and commercial vehicle applications.
Head gasket kits are engine-specific, often down to the production date and bore diameter variant. Use the make, model, engine code, and year selector to match TecDoc OE references to your exact engine. On many four-cylinder diesel engines — particularly Volkswagen Group units — different gasket thicknesses are available, selected based on piston protrusion measurement taken after machining. The OE reference on the gasket itself, visible before removal, gives the fastest cross-check and often includes a thickness code.
OEM kits from suppliers such as Elring or Victor Reinz are manufactured to the engine builder's torque, temperature, and sealing surface specifications. They use multi-layer steel (MLS) construction on most modern engines and carry the precise OE reference. Quality aftermarket kits from AJUSA or GLASER match these specifications and often include an extended range of auxiliary seals. Very cheap unbranded kits risk using inferior fire ring profiles or MLS layer counts, which can lead to repeat failure under combustion pressure cycles.
Almost always, yes. When a head gasket fails — particularly from overheating — the aluminium cylinder head warps slightly across its sealing face. Fitting a new gasket onto a warped head almost guarantees an early repeat failure. Have the head surface checked for flatness with a straight edge and feeler gauges; most machine shops can skim it within an hour if it's within limits. Also check for cracks around the coolant passages before reassembly, as heat-induced cracking is common when overheating was the original failure cause.
White or steam-heavy exhaust smoke, particularly noticeable on cold start or under load, is the most recognisable symptom of combustion gases entering the cooling system or coolant entering the combustion chamber. A sweet smell from the exhaust accompanies coolant combustion. The dipstick may show grey, milky oil when coolant contaminates the sump. On some engines the failure is external — oil weeping at the block-to-head joint — but this is less common than internal coolant-combustion breaches. A cooling system pressure test can confirm a breach before full disassembly.
Showing 100 of 6,740 Cylinder head gasket kit OE numbers. Enter the OE on the main OE search to jump to any reference.
