98 200 Johnson cylinder head question

[THEFERMANATOR]

It's actually semi normal, and is normally when I do head gaskets.

[Striper80]

Originally Posted by THEFERMANATOR

It's actually semi normal, and is normally when I do head gaskets.

Thanks for good news I guess. When doing head gaskets on these engines do the heads have to be milled? Do the seals around the water jackets fail before the cylinders? I got this boat for about a third of the price of what I saw them advertised for. It ran great and the compression was even so I figured the engine was good. I definitely don't want to damage this engine.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I don't normally mill the heads unless theres a ned for it. Chances are it will run for a long time ike it is as it isn't uncommon to see corrosion at the seem. When you see rust in the head gasket is when you need to be really concerned. Being a 98 though that is a closed deck block IIRC, and they are more prone to corrosion in the gasket area.

[Striper80]

I definitely want to keep my eye on it. My biggest concern is snapping head bolts. That's never fun. Thanks

[THEFERMANATOR]

The stainless head bolts aren't to bad about snapping, but they do get corroded in due to the dissimliar metal problems between stainless and aluminum. If the gaskets themselves aren't rusty, then I would run it for awhile before messing with it.

[Striper80]

Sounds good. Thanks.

[Striper80]

Was looking at the heads again today and I think I want to replace the gaskets. I was wondering if you prefer factory gaskets or if you use an aftermarket source.