Head Gasket Again!!!

[My Car Pwns]

hey, as most of you's know i had a problem wit my car a couple of weeks back.. turns out i had blown the head gasket, warped the head and seized the engine all at once.. after putting a new engine in.. 5 weeks later i'v blown another head gasket.. im gonna jus buy the gasket ($40) and change it.. any suggestions? hopefully the head will still be fine.. is there any way to make the head gasket not blow..? its getting ridiculous..! im starting to hate VL's..

 

[rattattack1313]

Have a goood read of the manual, if you have one........make sure everything is kept clean..........look for a ridge in the top of the bore, if a large ridge is present, it needs a hone-out........make sure all the old gasket is off both surfaces.....and while the head is off, get it checked, make sure it isn't warped.......and look carefully atr where th hasket is blown....has it burnt a lot of metal on the head/block???? hope not...usually this is a prob if you have driven it for ages and ages with it blown............hope this is a little help..... :thumbsup:

 

[My Car Pwns]

yer i have a manual... wot do u mean by a ridge in the top of the bore.. well wen i realised it was blown.. i didnt drive it at all.. i got it towed home.. but wen i looked at the oil cap on the head.. it was totally creamy n etc.. so i dont know how long its been blown for.. it jus heated up yesterday n i stopped driving str8 away.. u seem to know a lot about VL's should i fix n sell it? coz it seems my VL has been nothing but trouble.. if the head is gone i'l b on my 3rd engine in a 2 month period..!

 

[vlv8vic]

are you keeping your eye on the coolant levels? needs to be full at the radiator and also at the bleed points. bleed points are most importants as thats where steam builds and blows the head.

 

[rattattack1313]

Up to you if you fix & sell....sounds like you just got a few lemon motors.....and by the ridge, I mean a build-up of carbon , etc, at the top of the barrels...the pistons don't go right to the top..so there is a bit of the barrel that gets some build-up on it sometimes............while the motor is apart, best to check these things that are easily fixed, while the motor is apart......I'd fix & keep........ :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[harry3]

when filling the cooling system you must undo both bleeder bolts ( they may sieze and shear off if they havent been undone for a long time) and then force water into the radiator using a garden hose until it flows out both boltholes, then replace radiator cap first

otherwise a steam trap will form, water wont get to where its needed and engine damage will be done

this is a notorious problem for VL sixes, due to the top of the water passages being higher than the top of the radiator.

if the head is warped also check the top of the block

 

[Bax]

Just to clarify what you said there harry3.

If you park the car on a slight incline to make the radiator the top of the coolint system you should be able to trickle the water in there. WIth both bolts undone on the cooling system. Wait for water to come out of the bottom one. Do it up, then wait for water to come out of the top one, then do it up. Then put your cap back on.

 

[VT-565]

.....and by the ridge, I mean a build-up of carbon , etc, at the top of the barrels...the pistons don't go right to the top..so there is a bit of the barrel that gets some build-up on it

youre talking about the deck height, rat....most stock motors should run a few thou deck height, meaning the distance between the top of the piston at tdc and the deck or block height. Sorry rat, it's been a while since i spoke to yer..... :w00t:

 

[Bucket]

did you get the head pressure tested when it got decked (machined flat) or did you just put it back on without doing either of the above.

Now they should have checked the minimum thickness and pressure tested the head for cracks, its like checking for a pulse on an unconscious guy when you'r dealing with VLs's. If not, spank someone hard ok.

When you take the head off again, the head gasket should be like a crime scene as rat said, have a look around the edge of each bore while the head gasket is still attached and look to see if oil or water stains go between any oil galeries and water jackets. If not then you may need to look at the head again buddy. (unless for some reason you got the PCV hose and the little coolant hose on the side of the plenum mixed up.

 

[My Car Pwns]

i havnt got it tested yet.. probably gonna take a look tonight to see if i can find the reason that this heap of **** keeps bringin me headaches..! wot do u rekn the odds are of it jus being the head gasket? 1000 to 1? lol. also if it is the head again, do u rekn it would be better to put the nissan motor in2 my VL, apparently the heads don't go on them..?