yes it should. I'd see about adjusting the valves first. I once had a car that acted like a burnt valve but needed the valves adjusted. Even after adjustment it ran as if the valve was burnt. I took the head off. The valve was not burnt. Carbon built up on valve so much from being out of adjustment for so long that it was holding the valve open even after adjustment. If I'd known this, I'd just run it. It'd save me all that trouble. On a head gasket, the compression ring could fail or the material around the water or oil passages could fail and the compression ring be ok. This type of failure is usually caused by old age and heat. If you ever get a chance to look at a bad head gasket, not necesarily a blown head gasket, they'll tell you what happened. I've had head gaskets loose their compression ring and blow that compression to the outside of block. These you can spot because you will hear the choo~choo whistling type sound as compression is escaping. I've found that using too much starting fluid will cause this. Too much starting fluid causes the head bolts to stretch, next thing you know, head gasket is leaking.