Ecotec sump filling with coolant...

[chargedvx6]

Did you seal head studs/ bolts with GM sealant or Loctite 242 or 567? Even on a gasket swap the stud will turn and break the seal so need to be removed and re sealed

 

[VK SL 3800]

Did you seal head studs/ bolts with GM sealant or Loctite 242 or 567? Even on a gasket swap the stud will turn and break the seal so need to be removed and re sealed

This what i was thinking.

Ive got the Cometic MLS and haven't had any problems, not running as much boost though.

 

[IBLOWN]

Nevermind... Head gasket is blown... Dunno what im gonna do now. They were Felpro, stock ones are gonna do the same. Only thing i can do is pull the motor out, pull it down, deck the block and put the Cometics back in... Should have just left it alone and lived with the slight amount of coolant they leaked lol. Car can sit in the garage for another year before i CBF with it.

 

[IBLOWN]

Pulled a head off yesterday. Seems the compression was blowing out between the flame ring and the face of the head. Only thing i can think off is my torque wrench is out of calibration. Head is flat.

 

[Immortality]

Those cometic type gaskets require a fairly good surface finish, just been flat isn't necessarily good enough. Many people end up using something like the hylomar or copper gasket type sealants with these gaskets to ensure they seal properly.

 

[IBLOWN]

Those cometic type gaskets require a fairly good surface finish, just been flat isn't necessarily good enough. Many people end up using something like the hylomar or copper gasket type sealants with these gaskets to ensure they seal properly.

No this is with Felpro composite gaskets.

 

[IBLOWN]

 

[kiwicon]

yip, shes funked..

 

[Immortality]

The way it has failed around a fairly large section of the fire ring maybe it wasn't torqued down right or something isn't flat?

edit: Having a good look at the gasket it looks like it's failed in all 3 pots, first pot a touch going to the water jacket, 2nd pot a decent arc across the top and the 3rd failed the most spectacularly. Maybe get that torque wrench looked at and tested for accuracy as you mentioned earlier?

 

[IBLOWN]

Dead right immortality. Thought id better check last night.

So i went to a mates to check my torque wrench against his Snap On digital. Mine was out by nearly half! When torquing my studs to 80ftlbs it was actually only torquing to 40ftlbs! I was missing nearly 45deg rotation of the nut!

Time for a new torque wrench me thinks...