chewy8000

I have been running my car with 0 issues since the top end rebuild 6 months ago. Today I started her up and noticed moisture on the passenger side head. I stuck my finger in there and realized it wasn't water it was coolant. I can't believe this after all the work I have put into this thing. The thought of doing a head gasket job again is hard to comprehend. Do I need to retorque the head nuts? Were the heads not machined correctly? I feel defeated and ready to put this thing in storage for awhile. With the 2008 race season coming up I can't afford to put any more money into this car.

V-Fib

That sucks, I know your pain, mine started leaking again within a few months, but mine was from a bad cylinder sleeve that had been installed in one cylinder. Unfortuantely, it will have to be dis-assembled again to be inspected. Let us know what you find.

123quattro

What is the story with how you rebuilt the engine? Were the heads decked by a competent machine shop? Did you get the block surfaced as well? Did the engine get hot since it's been rebuilt?

Could the moisture be coming from around the intake and maybe not the head gaskets? Sorry, that sucks to hear.

Vlocity

Are there other supporting signs of a head gasket failure?

Loosing coolant, One spark plug "washed", white exhaust "smoke".

I hope you're wrong. (I know you do too).

Ken

chewy8000

I'm not loosing coolant the reservoir is stayin level. The heads and cam boxes were decked by the best in the area. Just a small bit of moisture along the inside seam where it meets the block. It just started doing this because I check it often. Maybe the recent low temperature here has caused this? I don't have the time to go through all this again. I guess I would only have to do the passenger side but still sucks. Not to mention these gaskets are a fortune! Should I pull it all apart and replace the gasket and also coat it with some avaition permatex? I have no idea what to do.

largecar379

a coolant leakdown (pressure) test would be first in order.

then an engine cylinder leak down test/compression test.

are you exactly sure where the coolant is coming from?

After you did the head gasket work the first time, did you run the motor and the pull the cam towers and re-torque the heads?

low temps? yep, might be what we in the trucking industry call a "cold water leak".

there's a hose that goes from the coolant cross over to the fender (intersects with the hose to the coolant reservour). it crosses over the cam tower/head on the passenger side. is the coolant leaking from that hose, perhaps???

don't tear it down until you've verified coolant system pressure (leak down), cylinder pressures/leakdown, and other places where the coolant could be coming from.......

Good luck-let us know what you find---

--Russ

chewy8000

I definately didn't pull the cam boxes and retorque the heads after running the motor up to temp? I never read that anywhere in the manual. If thats true what a PITA! Drain the coolant buy new gaskets? I did the suggested 3-stage torque sequence and thats it. I have to pull the intake runners and plenum to send back to Mark Kibort I will look deeper into the issue when all thats outa the way.

PorKen

There's no shame in using BarsLeaks or similar.

It fixed my '81's original weapy headgaskets. AFAIK, OEMs put it in too.

FBIII

Its critical that the washers under the nuts of the head studs don't spin while torqueing the nuts. I had an 84 engine that I built that had one washer that I was unaware of that was turning while the nut was being torqued. The head gasket went south pretty quickly. Tore the engine down completely couldn't find the cuprit. Torqued the heads and left it on the engine stand for for a week and rechecked the torque specs. One of the nuts had backed off and it was down about 7 foot pounds of torque. It was then that I observed the rotating washer. If your weeping from the top of the head and are planning to pull the intake system, I'd check the torque on the exposed top row before pulling it apart. Maybe you too have a washer that is rotating.

largecar379

FB is very correct about the head bolt washers. They should be marked prior to torquing, and then make sure they do not rotate while torquing.

As for going back a doing a re-torque after 15 minute warm-up, no, it is not in the manuals. it's and old race car motor build sequence most good builders have used for decades.

Did you chase/clean the head bolt threads (in the block and the bolts themselves)???

Did you oil the head bolt threads prior to installation?

These two things will affect torque values.

Keep the stop leak out of you car if you can. it doesn't fix the problem, only masks it.......

Check it out and let us know----

--Russ

largecar379

You also said nothing of decking the block......

that may be your problem-the block deck has to be straight and level as well.

--Russ

chewy8000

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll check the torque of the exposed bolts. I did the head gasket job with the motor in the car so the block was never decked.

V-Fib

Just a thought, but did you open the oil separator and check the strainer for that tell tale white creamy stuff? It will take quite a bit of coolant to eventually show up in the exhaust, but if you have moisture it will start collecting on the strainer in short order. This was the first place it showed up in mine. It never did show on the dipstick on the 79.

largecar379

one last thing I thought of:

you state the coolant is on the passenger side area of the head where it butts up to the block...

the intake bolts, if sent too far down into the head, will breach the head water jacket.

I had to drill/remove/helicoil a broken intake bolt and found out the hard way about this.......apparently the bolt had been broken for years.

Is it possible that you have an intake bolt causing this issue??

--Russ

V-Fib

That's interesting, when I removed the exhaust studs on the drivers side the last stud for #8 let coolant run out from the same type of repair. I had it welded.