Heckuva trashed head gasket.

Pulled this out at lunch today. 1, 3 & 4 were toast with 2 about to be.

oooch looks like 2 was getting ready to go with the others did you have a nos back fire or what happen to cause that

Looks like a "blue" Fel-Pro stock OEM rebuilders type gasket.

rmcomprandy wrote:Looks like a "blue" Fel-Pro stock OEM rebuilders type gasket.

+ poor tune up.

Barfed during test n tune at Drag Week. Ran good thru 1st and 2nd then puked in 3rd. Drove back to the pits on about 3 or 4 cylinders. Oil pressure was fine, water temp was fine, no smoking. Timing was 34 deg, jetted 82/88 on a Holley HP950. Looking back, there were indications these were on their way out before I even went to Drag Week. I just didn't put the puzzle pieces together until it was too late. Novice mistake I suppose. Pistons and bores look good so far and I will check them to make sure all pistons tdc at the same height they did when I was putting it together the first time.

Parked the car on the trailer and elected to do Drag Week in my Durango in the daily driver class.

I think big blocks hate me. I have built several SBF's and SBM's without any problems. Seems like every BBF I have messed with hates me for some reason. lol

i'd make sure the bolts and holes in the block were clean.the gasket looks like it was'nt tq'd down good.JMO.......

That is on my list of things to check as well as making sure the head bolts are not too long and are bottoming in the bolt holes. (155-3603 ARP bolts)

Need to run some better gaskets.

Suggestions?

This is a 10.6:1 TFS Street head 545.

The FRPP A441 gaskets are the cheapest premium ones.......same as felpro 1018 just less $s.

Lem Evans wrote:The FRPP A441 gaskets are the cheapest premium ones.......same as felpro 1018 just less $s.

I've ran both of those gaskets and used them over as many as 5 times and never had one fail. I'm with Lee , you might be on to something with the bolts bottoming out ? I'd checked them against a stock bolt on length. Good luck!

Roger on the A441/1018's. I will get a set ordered today.

I purchased these heads used and from some of the other stuff I ran into getting them set up, I would not be surprised one bit if they spot faced the head bolt bosses shorter.

I'm going to check everything over real freakin' close before I start buttoning it all back up.

BigBlockRanger wrote:Roger on the A441/1018's. I will get a set ordered today.

I purchased these heads used and from some of the other stuff I ran into getting them set up, I would not be surprised one bit if they spot faced the head bolt bosses shorter.

I'm going to check everything over real freakin' close before I start buttoning it all back up.

I've had to run two washers under the head of a head bolt before because of this very reason. Shortening the bolt is another option.

May be a dumb question but, is it possible to get the long bolts and short bolts mixed up? I'll check the driver's side when I pull it down. I did not pay attention to the passenger's side when I was taking it apart yesterday to see if I somehow boneheaded that. (would not surprise me! lol)

Bolt locations were not bogarted. lol I had to check! Driver's side head gasket looks about the same. Not quite as thrashed though. It wasn't *too* bad to get out once I pulled the brake booster. (which was a pain in the ass)

Short bolt protrudes through the head 1.35" which seems sorta long. I did not measure the long bolt but it looked to be ~1" or so. A couple of bolts had crud on the tip when I pulled them out so maybe the bolt holes do have crap in them. I did not have time to check them at lunch.

All pistons tdc right where they did when it was first built. A couple of the head bolts were definitely not as tight as the others. I don't know if that is a cause or a result though.

Were the heads checked for straightness before the engine was put together? Do you run a ton of spray on it?

No spray at all. I don't think it's a head/block issue since both banks are exhibiting the same failure pattern.

Not long after this engine was assembled and installed in the car, we moved to a new house and the car sat outside through our bitterly (for us) cold winter (-2F and -15 wind chills, etc.). I did put antifreeze in it but in retrospect, probably not as much as I should have. I don't know if this caused it, but I'm sure it did not help things one bit.

I am going to check and double check everything this time around so hopefully I don't have this issue any longer.

Detonation? Tune a little to agressive?

rmcomprandy wrote:Looks like a "blue" Fel-Pro stock OEM rebuilders type gasket.

X2,and would they work ok with a Aluminum head as i'm pretty sure he has Aluminum heads?IMO,that gasket would be fine for cast iron heads but i don't know about Aluminum heads.

Later Mark.

Yes they are TFS Streets.

Went by Oreilly's at lunch yesterday and ordered a set of 1018's and 208A's. They got them in a little after 4pm yesterday! Talk about quick service! They are starting to know me on a first name basis... don't know if that is a good thing or not. haha

I did not hear any detonation and there are no other signs of it. Tune *should* have been pretty dang ballpark. I am positive this thing was leaking long before Drag Week. I just know what to look for now. I'm living and I'm learning!

Mark Miller wrote:

rmcomprandy wrote:Looks like a "blue" Fel-Pro stock OEM rebuilders type gasket.

X2,and would they work ok with a Aluminum head as i'm pretty sure he has Aluminum heads?IMO,that gasket would be fine for cast iron heads but i don't know about Aluminum heads.

Later Mark.

Maybe the aluminum heads and cast iron block expansion and contraction in the extreme cold weather caused this?

I don't know, but running a 24 lb radiator cap probably did not help things either. The 16 is going back on it for sure.

Did you ever retorque the heads after the first few heat/cool cycles?

No. I have never done that on any of the engines I have built. Really seems to be a toss up when you ask people if it is necessary. Some do, some don't.

Everything is cleaned up and ready to go back together.

I checked the head bolt holes for debris and screwed a head bolt in to the holes to check the free length. They all checked fine.

I'm going to wipe the decks down with brake cleaner and a lint free cloth again before putting the heads back on it at lunch today. Then I'll come back tomorrow and pop the bolts loose and re-torque them. Hopefully that will take care of it.