oil coming from head

[realruffryder]

i just installed a reman head that was decked and all that. i put a cometic hg on with arp studs. i torqued everything to 95 ftlbs and when i started the car oil started coming from the headgasket. i know i have to take everything apart but has anyone had this happen to them before? if so what was it?

 

[syclone]

are you sure it is coming from the headgasket, their are several small allen head caps that fill small holes in the sides of the head, and if you dont install the timing belt top cover or at least put the bolts in oil will come up from their to. also the fittings to the turbo can be a difficult to get right.

Jamie Sanders
1996 GSX most every mod, (stuck as a newbe for 11 months)

 

[SleepingTsi94]

Im having same problem right now and its only got 3000 miles on rebuild. Mines on the left side. I sent it to the dealership. Get everything checked to make sure its not the head gasket. But check the banjo bolt and what not. Common place for leaks

 

[flyinghighlm]

behind some of the exhaust studs there is oil running back in there and if a stud is messed up or over torqued and not broke you can leak oil from those...odd I know but I did it myself...as far as you torqueing the motor to 95lbs did you go strait to 95lbs or gradually work your way up? Not trying to flame you here but it happens to be a common mistake so I thought I would ask

 

[hereitcomes]

You are suppose to tourque the head down in stages. 35, 45, 60, 75, 95

I have not had any problems or leaks. Im running a Mitsubishi Multi-Layer head gasket and ARP studs. My shortlock was decked.

 

[realruffryder]

yeah i torqued in steps. its coming from the left front side it looks like. ill have to check the exhaust studs a little more closely. i just saw the oil leakin, got pissed closed the hood and got drunk. also i dont see any oil running down the head at all its just from about the headgasket down.

 

[rennat]

are you really suppose to torque the head down to 95 ft/lbs? i thought the manual said something like 60ish...

 

[oldman]

are you really suppose to torque the head down to 95 ft/lbs? i thought the manual said something like 60ish...

He's using MLS and ARP's, 95 is fine, some have gone 100.

realruffryder, was both surfaces completely flate? One of the most important requirements of using a MLS. On a side note, when I re-torqued them, all had maintained 95 psi except the last two on the passinger side, might be a good idea to pull the VC and re-torque.

 

[realruffryder]

i already tried to retorque and it still leaked. plus the oil thats between the head and block will keep it from sealing all the way. the block may be warped but i dont really see that it could have with it being cast. in my experience all the cars that i have done that have over heated always warps the head first. i know you can warp a block but ive never seen it done. plus the headgasket was barely blown, the only time it overheated was when you were underboost. no white smoke and all that good stuff that goes along with a blown headgasket. i dont see it warping the block.
the new headgasket put indentations on the head around the combustion chambers. on the side that was leaking it had the most indentations. the side with the least amount of indentation wasnt leaking.

this is the 15th motor that ive built and the 3rd dsm motor and ive never seen this happen before.
im going to take the head back to the machine shop on monday and get them to recheck it to see if its straight.
how much will a composit headgasket hold in terms of boost on a 20g?

 

[realruffryder]

which hg is better the mit multilayer or cometic?

 

[oldman]

how much will a composit headgasket hold in terms of boost on a 20g?

It's all in tuning, some have reported running close to 30psi but I would stay around 25psi.

which hg is better the mit multilayer or cometic?

There seems to have more reported problems with cometic than mitsu but without knowing the statistics on usage, it hard to say which is better. I'm currently using the Mitsu mls and have had no problems. With that said, sucess in using either one depends greatly on both surfaces being completely clean and flat, copper spray will help seal minor imperfections but the key word being "minor".

 

[realruffryder]

so would you say it would be completely safe to run 20 psi on a composite gasket or would i be setting myself up for failure down the road?

 

[oldman]

As long as it's properly tuned, 20 psi will not be a problem. However, I'm not sure about 95psi on the composite, someone else will have to verified

 

[realruffryder]

what do you mean 95 psi? did you mean torqued to 95?

 

[oldman]

what do you mean 95 psi? did you mean torqued to 95?

Obviously.