[gtome]

I hope this isnt too noob of a question, but ive been reading alot in here about dry deck and wet deck, could someone tell me/explane what that is? Never heard it til recently when researching turbo stuff.

[67copperbird]

In a nutshell,the water passages between the deck of the block and the sealing surface of the head are blocked off. Water is still circulated through both, just not through deck into heads. In the event a head gasket goes you don't loose any water. I am sure others will chime in with specifics.

[gtome]

Would that be something only used in a race car?

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by gtome

Would that be something only used in a race car?

Typically, Yes.

If a head gasket fails and the deck is dry then the worse that can happen is xome of the combustion pressure leaks to the outside of the engine.

If the head has water passages connecting the head to the block thru the head gasket, IF the Head gasket fails, there is a small chance that when the engine is stopped that water could migrate into the cylinder. Enough water and you would "hydro-lock" the piston/crank.
Typically when that happens the starter is the first thing to go if the cylinder is full of water.

In a worse case situation the connecting rod might be bent slightly.

But typically, Quality Head Gaskets do not fail in normal service. High performance/Race situations is another story.

Tom Vaught

I would leave the Dry Deck stuff to the racers, but that is what it means as the previous poster explained.

[gtome]

Great! Im glad its something i dont even have to think about!