Rare same-day update, but this was very curious to realize:
Cometic's MLS head gasket has extra holes vs OEM/Fel-Pro
Even Tomei's head gasket matches OEM. Pretty weird.
But before I get to that, while I was taking the engine apart again, I found some more vacuum lines to replace by the PAIR valve.
I wasn't able to get a picture, but this tube was completely sealed! I had to poke a hole through it.
Got the head off and...
At first glance I thought I had clogged passages, but it was actually just the gasket material bubbled up from the heat:
That's when I started comparing gaskets and to see which have matching holes and where:
I have the unfortunate privilege of having 3 head gaskets, but neat little side-by-side between Cometic vs OEM/Fel-Pro
...And I painted the head shield black; I hope I don't regret it, LOL
Hoping to have a smooth reassembly tomorrow!
-------------
~Side note, dailying the Civic has been a blast! Grinded 500 miles within the first week just so I could enjoy max RPM sooner, haha
