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I'm replacing the head gasket on my Craftsman 21 HP yard tractor. I blew the head gasket while mulching leaves last weekend. So I have the new gaskets and just noticed lettering on 1 side of the gasket and it's smooth on the other. Which side goes on the block or does it matter? Thanks guys!

I have always gone letter side up, but I don't think it makes much difference. Do not use a sealer of any kind on gasket. Tighten the screws down evenly by hand. Use a torque wrench and tighten head bolts in the right sequence. And do not turn one screw down completely before the others, as it may cause a warped cylinder head.

Just make sure that the head and cylinder are clean.

I have always put the letters up

letters up. Thank you!

If I'm not dead then I plan to replace it sometime Saturday. Looks to be fairly simple to do. 2 bolts on carb, 3 bolts to remove muffler & pipe, 8 on head.

These head gaskets seem to be a weak link on Briggs OHV engines.

On the head gasket i just put on my 16 hp briggs, it can only be put on 1 way. Mine had 2 alignment pins that were on opposite sides and angled so it only went on 1 way.

Right on pontiac. I just done the job on my engine, it runs sweet and I ran it over an hour doing leaves, The gasket on this machine will fit only one way, Like you said, the pins are fixed and the bolt pattern in not symmetrical, so the gasket on this machine only fits 1 way. I don't remember which way it went on, up or down in relation to the stamping.

tigercat said:

Right on pontiac. I just done the job on my engine, it runs sweet and I ran it over an hour doing leaves, The gasket on this machine will fit only one way, Like you said, the pins are fixed and the bolt pattern in not symmetrical, so the gasket on this machine only fits 1 way. I don't remember which way it went on, up or down in relation to the stamping.

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This was a waste of a thread, you didn't have the time to look at the gasket to note that the shape was not symmetrical, you couldn't find the time to note if the number was upside down when fitting that may have help others here, ya nice one...!:thumbdown:

If your unsure never hurts to ask!

EngineMan said:

This was a waste of a thread

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I had the Briggs & Stratton gaskets in my hand, then noticed the difference from one side to another. I didn't pay attention to the bolt pattern at the time, just the gasket was different from one side to another. On auto engines it does matter which way they go on as many are stamped "up" etc. So I made the post after an exhaustive search that would not answer my question. Only after I was hands on the motor did I realize it goes on only one way.

So if I wasted your 30 seconds of life reading a bull crap topic, oh well, sorry about that! I will try harder to please ya next time! :confused2:

mowerguy said:

If your unsure never hurts to ask!

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It would have been, should have been (self-explanatory)

tigercat said:

I had the Briggs & Stratton gaskets in my hand, then noticed the difference from one side to another. I didn't pay attention to the bolt pattern at the time, just the gasket was different from one side to another. On auto engines it does matter which way they go on as many are stamped "up" etc. So I made the post after an exhaustive search that would not answer my question. Only after I was hands on the motor did I realize it goes on only one way.

So if I wasted your 30 seconds of life reading a bull crap topic, oh well, sorry about that! I will try harder to please ya next time! :confused2:

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Tigercat Don't worry about what he has to say ..U asked a Question that was valid . U.Didn't know so u asked some of the old timers are crusty ....I have been in the auto and small engine trade for 25 plus years i have my class A ticket and my small engine ticket ..I don't answer allot on here because of people like that..Sometimes i will privet message people and tell them how to fix there prob so i don't have to tell the snotty ones off as i have no patience for them ..I spend more time on my own forum helping people here in Canada and i dont allow my members to treat others with disrespect if they do i tell them to join my tractor forum.com or another one and tell them to please remove themselves from mine ....THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION THAT IS WHAT THE FORUM IS FOR and half of them forget they didn't know everything when they started in the trade or fixing stuff as a hobby ....Glad u got it fixed ...Cheers :thumbsup:

briggs said:

Tigercat Don't worry about what he has to say ..U asked a Question that was valid . U.Didn't know so u asked some of the old timers are crusty ....I have been in the auto and small engine trade for 25 plus years i have my class A ticket and my small engine ticket ..I don't answer allot on here because of people like that..Sometimes i will privet message people and tell them how to fix there prob so i don't have to tell the snotty ones off as i have no patience for them ..I spend more time on my own forum helping people here in Canada and i dont allow my members to treat others with disrespect if they do i tell them to join my tractor forum.com or another one and tell them to please remove themselves from mine ....THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION THAT IS WHAT THE FORUM IS FOR and half of them forget they didn't know everything when they started in the trade or fixing stuff as a hobby ....Glad u got it fixed ...Cheers :thumbsup:

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So many young one's talk out of they're back side's, it seems that we yet another one, you say you are "I am a jack of all trades" bet you are master of none of them.

EngineMan said:

So many young one's talk out of they're back side's, it seems that we yet another one, you say you are "I am a jack of all trades" bet you are master of none of them.

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LMAO Class A ticket means i can work on cars,transports,buses etc small engine ticket means i can work on lawnmowers to boats and just for **** and giggles i got my welding ticket to.. I also own 3 race cars witch i build on my own and race ...Yes i am only 40 and still young but i will not give newbies a hard time i have 3 teens working for me at my small engine shop they are co-op students i like passing on the knowledge to others heck in high school i taught the adult class because of my high marks and they ran out of stuff for me to do i completed everything from building car engines boat motors lawnmowers snowmobiles and every other thing they could throw at me passed with 98% in all my tech courses and went to trade school with a scholarship and a 98% average to boot ...I started working on cars boats and lawn mowers with my dad when i was 8 he was a millwright (for 43 years ) and he taught me allot and was a great teacher he always said if u don't know ask there is no such thing as a stupid Question ...Am i a master of any of my trades no i am not as u never stop learning because of the new stuff that keeps coming out am i smart I don't know but i run a very successful small engine and used parts shop... I do not know everything and i am not afraid to ask if i don't know ... I will not talk down to beginners or belittle them they come here ASKING FOR ADVISE not sarcasm or to be told they are stupid or the question is dumb ..U remind me of one of my first shop teachers i ever had he thought he was god and new everything and would blast u for asking a Question ...He quit when he got shown up by a 15 year old kid lol and we got a better shop teacher then and that 15 year old kid was his left hand man gee i wonder who that was :thumbsup: all i am saying is let up on them a little they want to learn too ..I bet u didn't know everything when u started the trade and asked some pretty dumb questions i know i did

Briggs, you missed one key point when you said there are no stupid questions. I agree there are no stupid question, but sometimes a person shouldn't answer them as the questioner may not be smart enough to use the answer safely. Like you I have taught engine repair to individuals ages 10-75 (middle school to adult tech school) and many times I refused to answer stupid questions, be cause the individual could get hurt when trying to use the answer. In this case a person who cannot tell how to install a head gasket (in my opinion) is in over their head. This is not a classroom where I can watch what the individual is doing and correct mistakes before something serious occurs. When giving answers I have to assume that the questioner has the mechanical ability to complete the job SAFELY. It's like pouching jets, disabling safety switches, modifying parts, each of these can get someone hurt and very seldom will I give out this info, unless I am pretty sure the individual knows what they are doing. There are about a dozen members on this forum who keep posting threads on this forum and others who fit into this category and I have told them so, plus now refuse to answer any of the questions, not because the question is stupid, but the questioner is not smart enough to know how to handle the answer. As you stated you have been doing this for many years and know what you are doing. So do us old farts, but our experiences have taught us that there are exceptions to every rule and sometimes there are STUPID QUESTIONS. Don't blame us for calling them out, our experiences tell us we have to.

Rivets said:

Briggs, you missed one key point when you said there are no stupid questions. I agree there are no stupid question, but sometimes a person shouldn't answer them as the questioner may not be smart enough to use the answer safely. Like you I have taught engine repair to individuals ages 10-75 (middle school to adult tech school) and many times I refused to answer stupid questions, be cause the individual could get hurt when trying to use the answer. In this case a person who cannot tell how to install a head gasket (in my opinion) is in over their head. This is not a classroom where I can watch what the individual is doing and correct mistakes before something serious occurs. When giving answers I have to assume that the questioner has the mechanical ability to complete the job SAFELY. It's like pouching jets, disabling safety switches, modifying parts, each of these can get someone hurt and very seldom will I give out this info, unless I am pretty sure the individual knows what they are doing. There are about a dozen members on this forum who keep posting threads on this forum and others who fit into this category and I have told them so, plus now refuse to answer any of the questions, not because the question is stupid, but the questioner is not smart enough to know how to handle the answer. As you stated you have been doing this for many years and know what you are doing. So do us old farts, but our experiences have taught us that there are exceptions to every rule and sometimes there are STUPID QUESTIONS. Don't blame us for calling them out, our experiences tell us we have to.

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i do agree with some of what u are saying ...But there are some people that don't have the ability like we do to understand or come by it like we did ..They need help ..As for safety issues i will admit i am very sticky about that stuff i wont tell anyone to do something that is not safe to do i have let kids go because of not being safe ...my point was he asked a question and he ended up doing the job and it worked ..he forgot witch way the gasket went and could not tell us so other people don't make the same mistake it happens heck i have done it myself lol (Mondays) i hope that all of us on here can make this Forum a awesome place to be ..I used to be on my Tractorfourm.com but i left there because of stuff like this i could not stand it anymore every other thread was like this got to be to much ...well off to the shop to work on some snow blowers that white stuff is coming soon have a great day eh

Rivets said:

Briggs, you missed one key point when you said there are no stupid questions. I agree there are no stupid question, but sometimes a person shouldn't answer them as the questioner may not be smart enough to use the answer safely. Like you I have taught engine repair to individuals ages 10-75 (middle school to adult tech school) and many times I refused to answer stupid questions, be cause the individual could get hurt when trying to use the answer. In this case a person who cannot tell how to install a head gasket (in my opinion) is in over their head. This is not a classroom where I can watch what the individual is doing and correct mistakes before something serious occurs. When giving answers I have to assume that the questioner has the mechanical ability to complete the job SAFELY. It's like pouching jets, disabling safety switches, modifying parts, each of these can get someone hurt and very seldom will I give out this info, unless I am pretty sure the individual knows what they are doing. There are about a dozen members on this forum who keep posting threads on this forum and others who fit into this category and I have told them so, plus now refuse to answer any of the questions, not because the question is stupid, but the questioner is not smart enough to know how to handle the answer. As you stated you have been doing this for many years and know what you are doing. So do us old farts, but our experiences have taught us that there are exceptions to every rule and sometimes there are STUPID QUESTIONS. Don't blame us for calling them out, our experiences tell us we have to.

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I agree. Very well said