[AJxtcman]

Sorry guy's for not getting back to everyone.
I am gutting my house. New pluming, wiring, Drywall, all new insulation, adding a bathroom, expanding a dormer, and all new trim inside and outside.

OK back to the Head Gasket suff.

Another tech (#1 golden boy) did a set of head gaskets and installed 20 TimeSerts on a 97 Deville last month. I would say that this tech is an average tech. I would not let him touch one of my cars, but he turns the most hours in the shop. Management like him and the help him out all the time. On this old slug the stock TimeSerts pulled out. The boss came to me for help. They wanted Norm's inserts. I didn't have any and it takes and act of god to get a check for something. This left us with using a PO. My boss bent over backwards to get this tech a set of BIG inserts. Myself and the #2 golden boy had asked for the BIG TimeSerts a couple of times before and never got them.

Anyway the Big Serts are a lot different then I thought they would be. I will get some pictures.

After seeing them I would say that they are worth a try. I would not try to install the original TimeSerts in a 1993 to 1999 block. The originals TimeSerts just don't fix this issue.

The BIG TimeSerts still have a 1.5mm thread pitch on the outside. This is good and bad.

Good: If the inserts turns when you are torquing the head bolt by angle the thread pitch will keep an even torque

Bad: The thread depth is still shallow and doesn't have the bite that Norm's does.