Reinforced head gasket Volkswagen Seat 2.8 VR6 24V BDF AUE BDE AQP

The Volkswagen and Seat engines covered

The BDF, AUE, BDE and AQP petrol engines, VR6s of 2.8 litres with 24 valves, power the Volkswagen and Seat models in the compatibility table below.

This original gasket carries the part number 022 103 383 F. Its bore is 82.5 mm; the manufacturer publishes neither its construction nor its thickness. It is sized for the original combustion pressure: when that rises, the preload fades, the cylinder head lifts a little and coolant reaches a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The head gasket alone is not enough to guarantee the seal: it also depends on the fasteners, which press the head against the block. A composite gasket is crushed for good beyond 100 N/mm² of allowable stress, whereas the 301 stainless steel of MLX gaskets withstands 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and regains its shape at each combustion.

This page presents the part numbers from Cometic, an American maker of racing gaskets, in a single construction: the MLX with a chamber stopper. The gasket bore, 84 mm, is 1.5 mm larger than the original gasket's, and two thicknesses are available, 0.81 mm and 1.57 mm, enough to adjust the compression ratio without touching the pistons or the cylinder head. As a rule, the gasket bore chosen is at least 0.5 mm larger than the actual cylinder bore. Each part number is sold individually, one gasket per engine.

Technical specifications

The gasket volume is the room it leaves free above each cylinder. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio, the more so the larger it is. These values can only be compared between gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check the flatness of the head and block with a straight edge, then have them resurfaced if necessary. These gaskets are fitted without sealing paste, as Cometic supplies them already coated.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Cometic MLX A multi-layer stainless steel gasket whose folded centre layer forms a stopper around the combustion chamber, with a high-temperature coating. Clamping rises locally without adding to bore distortion. It is the most resistant of the all-steel gaskets, to be kept for severe boost; it is offered here in 84 mm only.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Cometic MLX is only offered here in 84 mm (C14184).

Thickness. The thickness of the original gasket is not disclosed by the manufacturer. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

As no original thickness is published, use a dial gauge to measure how far the pistons stand above the block face, especially with the thinner of the two thicknesses: it determines the clearance left between piston and cylinder head.

The brand

Cometic Gasket, Inc., an American company born in 1989 in Concord, Ohio, designs gaskets and sealing solutions for engines. Its strong point is the gasket made to order, at the bore and thickness required. Its manufacturing is entirely American, with American raw materials.

Advantages over the original gasket

When a reinforced gasket becomes necessary

• Adding forced induction, or raising boost on an already turbocharged engine
• Cylinder rebored beyond what the 82.5 mm bore of the original gasket covers
• Looking for a compression ratio different from standard, higher or lower
• Engine that has already lost its gasket, or is consuming coolant
• Competition use, where the gasket goes through repeated temperature rises

Vehicle compatibility

OEM part number: 022 103 383 F.

Important: the part numbers on this page are valid only for the BDF, AUE, BDE and AQP engines: check your vehicle's engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

Where the original gasket reaches its limits, the reinforced gasket takes over: under a higher combustion pressure, it stays true to its shape instead of sagging.

As soon as a turbo, a supercharger or a higher compression ratio comes into play, the head gasket becomes the first weak link of the top end. A reinforced gasket is therefore as much about safety as about comfort: it avoids the failure and the cylinder head removal that goes with it.