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ARP Head studs with Permatorque head gasket

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JAW91

10+ Year Contributor
131
5
Dec 16, 2008
Orlando, Florida
I just recently installed new valve stem seals and revised lifters on my head because I was getting a little bit of white smoke on start-up and lifter tick. Since I was pretty much taking everything apart anyways, I figured I might as well change the head gasket since it had an unknown head gasket on it. I bought a new Felpro permatorque head gasket to change it out with (I'm pretty positive it was a cometic), it wasn't leaking before but I did not trust it since I was also going to a bigger turbo (from the 14b to the Evo III 16g) anyways, I changed everything out, torqued all the head studs to 85 lb ft and its leaking coolant at the head gasket (This was torqued with a torque wrench from harbor freight so I'm not sure exactly how accurate it is but I can't get my hands on a better one until Monday so I used what I had) but I was able to start the car and get it warm at least. I am going to pull the valve cover off tomorrow probably and make sure they are all still at 85 lb ft. I was wondering if maybe someone might know of another reason why it might be leaking? I torqued the head in sequence from the center out which is how it was according a post on here that I found. I also torqued the bolts the first round to 40, then 50, then 60, then 70, then 85 so I did it in a 5 step process. I'm not exactly sure whats wrong but I'm hoping my torque wrench is just garbage and that's why because its not that bad of a leak but it does leak.
 
I torque my arps to 95ft/lbs but that is on my 6bolt, not sure what 7bolt is. I would say your block wasn't smooth enough for the mls gasket, it has to be perfectly smooth for it. Did you get the head surfaced, it has to have a mirror finish?
 
Yes that's a mistake some make when people don't deck the head and the block and make sure its in spec for a mls gasket, the oem one will hold a plenty of power or felpro for that matter. MLS if your going for a over 500 hp I would say but that's my opionon.
 
No I did not get the head or block resurfaced, I just took off the head, took the old gasket off, put the new gasket in its place, and put the head back on. The motor is still in the car. Oh and it previously had a MLS head gasket on before I put the FelPro gasket in its place. My car is also a 6 bolt by the way, its the 1990 motor.
 
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Well you could try to torque them to 95 and see if that helps, but you may have to pull it and put a composite gasket on. There are plenty of people making plenty of power on a cheap felpro composite gasket or oem composite.
 
No decking of the head or block, not checking flatness. Incorrect torquing sequence. I can see why your having problems. Researching ahead of time would I'd saved you time, money, and headache.

The permatorque is overkill and unnecessary for such a small turbo. Also the factory headstuds are more then adequate for the amount of airflow a 16g can put out. People say the factory studs are stronger then standard arps and I've never had a problem with them on mild builds.

I personally like factory 6bolt headstuds/composite or L19/composite.
 
I never said I did it in the wrong torquing sequence, I torqued it right I said I think my torque wrench might be off on the low side. The motor has rods and pistons and I don't plan on keeping the 16G forever either. I am eventually going to upgrade providing I get the money to do so. I admit I probably should have had the head decked but the block has been in the car the whole time so I wasn't going to pull it to get it decked and I don't feel comfortable decking it myself. Also, I did check for flatness even though I did not say so in my first post.

Thank you mchustle for the response, that's more then likely what I am going to do with a torque wrench that I am going to borrow from my school.
 
By torque sequence, i mean steps to properly load and stretch the studs. Doing five steps vs doing to recommended three of 30, 60 and final torque # depending upon 1g or 2g.

Torquing in multiple short steps like that skews torque results because with such small increments on travel there is not enought force to overcome variances in friction between the threads and nut face giving you an inaccurate reading. Its the general rule of thirds.

Mains, rods and head stud/bolts are torqued in three steps all on average a third if the final torque value.

And the torque wrench you have should be fine. They have been tested to be pretty accurate. If you want to look into it search for it in garagejournal.

If i was you, i would just run a composite. Imo, its cheaper and safer bet. If you don't know how to tune or suck at it, the composite will act like a fuse and save your motor. Not to mention it doesn't require decking of either the head nor block.
 
Ohh, I didn't know that about the 5 step being bad for it. Good to know though, I'm thinking maybe I should just loosen all the nuts back up and then re-torque them with the dial torque wrench tomorrow to 95. Hopefully it works but if not I will definitely be going to get a composite instead. The reason I don't trust my torque wrench is because its from harbor freight and I have tightened it all the way up past the max point so I think the spring might be weak now. I'll let you guys know for sure tomorrow.
 
pull the head and start over, with a new HG, the gasket you have now has coolant and /or oil between the decks and gasket.
 
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