QuestFan Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Running AJUSA head gasket from TEP along with ARP studs from TEP torqued to 90 initially, and then to 105 to attempt to seal the leak. My head is leaking coolant directly underneath the #2 spark plug where the head meets the block of course. Just a bizzar place to start leaking all of a sudden IMO. Think the head is cracked or just need to replace the head gasket? I have a Felpro 9116PT on hand brand new that I will use. Ever seen this before? No coolant is reaching the pistons from what I can tell. Just seeping out the side of the head. Also going to have it checked for warpage while its off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey_crandall Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 did you torque them after letting the car warm up or just when the leak happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 If it detonated just once it could have blown and the seal is broken and why the coolant leaks but it may still seal at the cylinder. If there was any coolant laying between the gasket and the surface you can't compress a liquid and it won't just mash out of the way, not all of it. When you tightened the studs again, did you loosen up the nut and put some new lubricant under the nut before you torqued it back down? Your TEP gasket wasn't that black uncoated one was it? Once they blow and leak coolant you can't get them t seal again, you have to start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobJ Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Yea your supposed to re torque the head after it reaches normal operating temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestFan Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 If it detonated just once it could have blown and the seal is broken and why the coolant leaks but it may still seal at the cylinder. If there was any coolant laying between the gasket and the surface you can't compress a liquid and it won't just mash out of the way, not all of it. When you tightened the studs again, did you loosen up the nut and put some new lubricant under the nut before you torqued it back down? Your TEP gasket wasn't that black uncoated one was it? Once they blow and leak coolant you can't get them t seal again, you have to start over. I was hoping you would reply. No sir this was a true AJUSA gasket. Silicone coated. No sir I did not loosen the nuts and put new lubricant under them. Is there anywhere I can get lube locally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestFan Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 And yes I know you're supposed to re-torque the head initially. That is what I did. I torqued them to 70 to start out, ran it, parked it overnight and came back in the morning and loosened all the nuts and torqued them to 90. I did use the Molly lube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestFan Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 did you torque them after letting the car warm up or just when the leak happened. BOTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhansenconquest Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 you dont loosen than re- torque ,you simply torque to higher torque setting,because if you loosen than re-torque oil and water can get in between gasket and head surfaces and contaminate sealing between head and block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 You must loosen up the nut and relube it then tighten it back again. If you attempt to turn it after its set and heated up a few times and the lube is burned the torque reading will be way off and to get it to even tighten up any further might require two times what it needs to be set at and there's no way too tell what its really at but it will be different on every one of them and inconsistency on torque clamping is what warps heads and blows gaskets. You notice how when you first torqued it down the wrench turned easy then when you try to break it free after its been ran you about break your arm then it finally snaps free? Its because the lube under the surfaces you are causing to turn and why it was put there is no good any longer for doing that job. If you just loosen up one bolt it won't leak, just one at a time. AND don't try and do this with a "hot" or even "warm" engine, do it just like you did the first time STONE COLD. Heated up metal is EXPANDED, why would you want to try to tighten bolts again on warmed up aluminum that is swelled up then it cools down and its more loose than when you started. If you don't relube those washers, when you retorque those fasteners you make them more loose then the were the first time because of the increased friction between the parts as you torque them down. The lube is to reduce the friction and its why you see numbers all over the place and no details. What torque with what and where and who and all that matters is, that no matter what fastener you use, as long as you at least have some 30w engine oil between the turning surfaces, you torque those to 120ftlbs. You want to go by those insane low and vague numbers in that service manual where they wanted gaskets to blown and not pay warranty repairs on overboosted and overheated engines then you go right ahead and waste your time. ARP has some torque and clamping load values on their site and you'll see the huge differences in the clamping force between numbers like 70 and 120 but it matters about the lubricant used between those moving surfaces and if you don't pay attention to both the numbers on your torque wrench and have the lubricant for that number and are turning in clean threads then you won't get this right. Back up and think how many engines do you suppose over all the years just took a nasty old bolt and turned it down to 70ftlbs and when the gasket blew someone said it overheated or had too much boost? This is why right here, its not installing the head and using a torque wrench properly cause an old stock head and bolt and cheap felpro gasket will boost 30psi all day every day and I've done it and I'm not the only one. Yours is leaking coolant and there's no way to get that out now you have to pull the head and start over. This just happened a month or so ago with someone else. His gasket was blown he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhansenconquest Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 good information indiana I LEARN SOME THING NEW EVERY TIME I READ YOUR POSTS . I think if you loosen one at a time and relube it wont get oil or water under the gasket .listen to indiana!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestFan Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I love Indiana. No homo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestFan Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuze Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Regarding torque lubes, this episode of Horsepower TV tested all the popular ones, including motor oil, "peanut butter", assembly lube, etc. The ARP lube they tested was very impressive as far as consistency and reliable readings, definitely check this video out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-XXVk_vwKw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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