MLS Gaskets on ebay, Dodgey Quality

Please be aware of these on ebay

Sorry for the poor image quality but all I had was my phone

I fitted one of these gaskets to Ian's car after he bought it, it leaked striaght off, once it had been under pressure you can easily tell where the problems are, Ian called the supplier and he didn't argue at all he just sent another and that leaked striaght off too

And If your thinking something else was wrong, Noooo head was perfect and so was the block, the head was tested after the first gasket to make sure

Top is the dodgey one, bottom is the ones I use and worked 100% first time



Good one on the left, dodgey ebay on the right , also check out where the gasket is pinched together, on the good one it is a pinch on the bad one it actually punches right through the layers



The one on the right was a bad one off ebay, only small differences so hard to tell on the quality of image, basically the silver flaps on the top at 1 O'clock & 11 are thick and welded to a burn mark, round the cylinders the black varies in distance from 1.5 to about 3mm, the black its self is not in line with the silver holes and round the silver tabs there is another void space

These are really small differences but gaskets like these will never seal,

Well done, Jon. :thumbsup:
It's good to make people aware of this problem. :yesnod:
It looks like someone is copying the proper MLS head gasket, and not making a very good job of it! :nonod:

It would be easy to fit one of these inferior gaskets, and end up wasting a lot of time and money!

Thank you for posting the comparison pics. These troubles with none original MLS gaskets are known here in DE aswell. :rant:
We always recommend to using X-Part authorised traders only or just source from Land Rover workshops (outside the UK)
LR MLS gasket LVB500190 and oil rail LCN000140L

Not sure about the current X-Part p/n ( LVB000320 SLP ? + ladder LCN000140L ) even I put them to my special online EPC.
Anyone here to confirm ?

I must admit I don't use original branded MLS gaskets, but my supplier is a gasket manufacturer rather than just a trader getting cheap far east ones shipped in

The one on the left is from my supplier an I've never had a problem with one yet and are great value at £20

The other problem is with trader buying in bulk they sometimes simply sell them on to get there money back knowing they are dodgey

At least with the manufacturer he has his reputation to think of and is a supplier to main stream manufacters and being at the begining of the supply chain if there is a problem its sorted there an then, no dodgey batches sitting on shelves, The down side is this company only makes head gaskets and head bolts or I would order all my parts from him

The moral is either stick with branded quality parts or a supplier you trust

good post, just goes to show how dodgy parts can further harm our car's reputation

broon wrote: good post, just goes to show how dodgy parts can further harm our car's reputation

I always prefer to use branded stuff, it is just not worth the bother in getting cheap copies. you always get what you pay for!!