Reinforced head gasket Ford 1.6 1.8 Escort Orion Fiesta Sierra

The Ford engines covered

The 1.6 litre Ford petrol engines in the compatibility table below (including the turbocharged LNA, LNB and LHA) and the 1.8 litre R2A and R6A power the Ford Escort III, IV and V, Orion I, II and III, Fiesta II and III and Sierra II; each takes a single cylinder head gasket.

The original gaskets carry part numbers 6 156 076 (most 1.6 litre engines), V85SF6051AA (LNA, LNB and LHA) and 6 467 942 (R2A and R6A). Ford does not publish their bore, thickness or construction. They are sized for standard combustion pressure; when it rises, the clamping load relaxes, the cylinder head lifts slightly and coolant finds its way into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket does not seal on its own: the fasteners that clamp the head onto the block provide the other part. A composite gasket is permanently crushed from 100 N/mm², whereas the 301 stainless steel of MLS gaskets withstands up to 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and springs back with every combustion.

This page brings together twenty-one part numbers from two competition makers, Athena (Italy) and Cometic (United States), all in multi-layer steel MLS construction. Athena offers three thicknesses, 1.3 mm, 1.6 mm and 1.9 mm, with an 81 mm bore; Cometic offers eighteen thicknesses, from 0.69 to 3.56 mm, with an 83 mm bore. The engine takes only one gasket: order a single part number, according to the bore and thickness you want.

Technical specifications

Gasket volume is the space the gasket leaves above each piston. That space adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio. Compare only gaskets of the same bore: the Athena (81 mm) and the Cometic (83 mm) on this page do not share one.

Preparation and fitting

Before assembly, check with a straight edge that the head and block are flat, and have them resurfaced if needed. Athena and Cometic supply gaskets already coated: do not add sealing paste.

Technical guide

The two constructions offered

Athena MLS Athena MLS Two to five AISI 301 stainless steel sheets, laser cut, stamped and riveted. A folded sheet wraps each cylinder: this Gas Stopper concentrates the clamping load on the combustion chamber, while beads isolate the water and oil circuits. The outer faces are coated: one layer resists high temperatures and takes up small surface flaws in the block and head, and a silicone layer stops the gasket sticking at removal. It is Athena's all-steel formula, usable from a prepared naturally aspirated engine to moderate boost.

Cometic MLS Stainless steel sheets, stamped and riveted together. The outer sheets carry beads that ring each cylinder and each fluid passage. Moderate tightening is enough to seal and the bore keeps its shape: this construction suits anything from a prepared naturally aspirated engine to moderate boost.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Athena MLS is available here in 81 mm (338270R, 338271R and 338272R) and the Cometic MLS in 83 mm (C5756 part numbers).

Thickness. Ford publishes no figure for the original gasket thickness. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

Since Ford does not state the original thickness, use a dial gauge to measure how far the pistons stand above the block face, particularly if you choose a gasket thinner than the removed one: it sets the piston-to-head clearance.

The two brands

	Athena S.p.A., an Italian maker of gaskets and engine parts, has its head office and main plant in Alonte, in the Veneto; the group also has sites in Spain, the United States, Brazil and India. Some car makers fit its multi-layer gaskets as original equipment, and its whole competition range is designed and made in Italy.
	Founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio, Cometic Gasket, Inc. makes gaskets and sealing solutions for engines. Its speciality is the made-to-measure gasket, cut to the bore and thickness requested, produced entirely in the United States from 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 bore of the gasket offered (81 mm for Athena, 83 mm for Cometic) 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: 6 156 076, V85SF6051AA and 6 467 942.

Important: the part numbers on this page only suit the engines in the compatibility table, and the Athena 338270R, 338271R and 338272R are only listed for the turbocharged LNA, LNB and LHA engines: check your vehicle's engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the original gasket is no longer enough, the reinforced gasket takes over: at higher combustion pressure it keeps its shape without being crushed.

Boost, a higher compression ratio, more revs: the head gasket is the first part of the top end to fail. A reinforced gasket prevents the leak, and above all the head removal that follows, which costs far more than the gasket itself.