bad headgaskets plus boost = ?

[Sundance 6g72]

its all good. i have the book that tells me

i just want to make sure im tightening correctly

once i have them tightened down like the picture says ^ ^ ill loosen bolt 1 by .25 turn and then tighten it to 95lbs. then do the same with bolt too

at first i was thinking we would loosen all of them by 1/4 turn and then re tq to 95 but doing one at a time makes much more sense.

[turbovanman²]

That isn't copper spray, that's rust and yeah, those head gaskets are done, quite easy to see where is was leaking.

I would seriously consider spending the few bucks and getting them planed.

[c2xejk]

The reason for the loosen 1/4 turn is because static friction is greater than dynamic friction and the spec is given assuming the bolt is in motion (ie. dynamic.) As far as bolt reuse, stock 3L bolts are fine for reuse because they are not Torque To Yield (aka TTY.) If you can it is a good idea to chase the bolt holes to clean the threads.

And you know to oil the threads, right.

[turbovanman²]

And you know to oil the threads, right.

And put some lube, IE ARP Moly lube, under the bolt head/washer to stop or reduce stiction.

[Sundance 6g72]

That isn't copper spray, that's rust and yeah, those head gaskets are done, quite easy to see where is was leaking.

I would seriously consider spending the few bucks and getting them planed.

when did i mention copper spray? i said the rear gasket came off as if it had copper spray used on it (i remember brent saying he loves that stuff because headgasket removal is a sinch)

as far as rust on the deck, there is non.. there is some gunk that had to be cleaned up but nothing thats horrible. coolant passages dont look great but nothing i can do about that right now. as far as quite easy to see where its leaking, care to share? the fire rings (is that what they are called?) are all intact.. hard for me to see how coolant got in there but what do i know?

The reason for the loosen 1/4 turn is because static friction is greater than dynamic friction and the spec is given assuming the bolt is in motion (ie. dynamic.) As far as bolt reuse, stock 3L bolts are fine for reuse because they are not Torque To Yield (aka TTY.) If you can it is a good idea to chase the bolt holes to clean the threads.

And you know to oil the threads, right.

yes to oiling threads and ive been working on a way to clean the threads. they arnt that bad in there but i know, we want them spotless.

[turbovanman²]

when did i mention copper spray? i said the rear gasket came off as if it had copper spray used on it (i remember brent saying he loves that stuff because headgasket removal is a sinch)

as far as rust on the deck, there is non.. there is some gunk that had to be cleaned up but nothing thats horrible. coolant passages dont look great but nothing i can do about that right now. as far as quite easy to see where its leaking, care to share? the fire rings (is that what they are called?) are all intact.. hard for me to see how coolant got in there but what do i know?

I was saying you said that but to me the copper spray look is rust.

Look for black area's on the gasket, that's where its leaking. If I was good at modding pics, I'd circle the area's, lol.

[Sundance 6g72]

if your talking about that, thats an effect from the flash. the rust looking area is actually silver like and pretty clean, just like the other deck. not sure how it turned out looking like that but whatever

ive never done a headgasket before, so if the area that was black gunky looking is a leak then i guess i had a few of those. thats good news i guess, i was hoping to find something wrong so i know im fixing it.

[bond_bbs]

If you're not going to get the heads milled, take a razor blade from a utility knife (Just the blade!) and make sure there is no gunk or left over gasket pieces on both the head and the deck. Be gentle, and a fresh razor blade CAN cut off little pieces of steel / aluminum if your angle is too steep. You almost want to slide it parallel to the deck.

[Sundance 6g72]

yep i have done all the surface prep.

im about to get a valve spring compressor from my buddies shop.. so the heads *should* be back on today.

if i could afford to get the heads milled, i would. but i cant.. i would have to wait a little bit and i need this car as soon as possible. If that ends up biting me in the rear then so be it, live and learn.

vss should be a sinch to replace right?

[Sundance 6g72]

im trying to remove the valve springs

i can get the spring completly compressed.. but the valve and lock/retainer goes down with the spring.....

[Ondonti]

Hit the retainer with a socket and hammer first to get them loose. THen you need to put pressurized air in the cylinder to keep the valve up. I couldn't get my locks to pop loose until I hammered each one, even with 130psi.

I have gotten away with reinstalling 10 year old OEM gaskets that have sat for 3 years in a shed by simply copper spraying and then heating the motor up and cooling it down (was leaking coolant when I first filled it up). When you use a new gasket like you should, you will be fine. You can always take a straight edge and feeler gauges to check the surfaces for out of flatness. There is a tolerance for that. Our cylinder heads flex before the headgasket actually fails so removing any material is worse then trying to have a perfect surface. I emphasize this because you are boosted. That said, if your cylinder heads are flexing, you are knocking, so flex is saving your motor.

[c2xejk]

im trying to remove the valve springs

i can get the spring completly compressed.. but the valve and lock/retainer goes down with the spring.....

I take it you are using a "head on engine" type valve spring compressor, then you are going to have to do what Brent said. Might be able to compress the spring and then give the compressor a tap with a hammer. It is helpful to use a magnet to fish the locks out.

On the VSS, you can use a socket if you don't have the right tool.

[Sundance 6g72]

[QUOTE=Ondonti;869524]Hit the retainer with a socket and hammer first to get them loose. THen you need to put pressurized air in the cylinder to keep the valve up. I couldn't get my locks to pop loose until I hammered each one, even with 130psi.

I have gotten away with reinstalling 10 year old OEM gaskets that have sat for 3 years in a shed by simply copper spraying and then heating the motor up and cooling it down (was leaking coolant when I first filled it up). When you use a new gasket like you should, you will be fine. You can always take a straight edge and feeler gauges to check the surfaces for out of flatness. There is a tolerance for that. Our cylinder heads flex before the headgasket actually fails so removing any material is worse then trying to have a perfect surface. I emphasize this because you are boosted. That said, if your cylinder heads are flexing, you are knocking, so flex is saving your motor.[/QUO

TE]

I predicted that the head gasket was bad before i got boosted. Air in coolant always, coolant always look like hell too. With boost i filled the coolant with air alot faster and saw the effects easier

At 8psi my intake temp never got hotter than 38* F and with how rich i was plus my lower timing, i dont think i was knocking... 93 octane.

Heads re installed, motor timed. Just need crossover on, upper intake on, belt, strut bar and i think im good

Vss did not get done. This is a story for later.. and im not to worried about it right now.

[Ondonti]

Well it was no surprise to me that 4000 miles of towing cars completely blew a slow leak headgasket. Stupid Mountain passes. Thats why I don't worry so much about 3.0 mechanical reliability.

[87turbodance]

...........

[turbovanman²]

Is it done yet?

[Sundance 6g72]

yeah heads are on, builds 8psi and all seems good. i havnt loooked at it TOOO closely though.