In a piston engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders, forming the roof of the combustion chamber. In sidevalve engines the head is a simple plate of metal containing the spark plugs and poss
Side view of a DOHC cylinder head (with the valves and camshafts installed)
Underside of a OHV cylinder head (with the valves installed)
In an internal combustion engine, a head gasket provides the seal between the engine block and cylinder head.
Cylinder head
…Reverse-flow cylinder head Head gasket Junk head…
Head gasket (in dark gray with a red border) sitting on top of an inline-four engine block. When installed, the four large holes will align with the cylinders.
Head gasket with a leak between the rightmost and centre cylinders.