Different head gaskets?

[wildy55]

 

Just rebuild my engine at a friend's workshop, using the workshop manual for torqueing and  sequence for tightening the head. Used new head gasket, everything good. Then, once the completed engine was back in the car, started to refill the coolant. It then started to pour out, literally, from between the head and block. Not just a trickle, but a flood. And then was before I'd even run the engine, just leaking as I was filling with a watering can. So, warped head or wrong head gasket. Was there more than one for the n/a L28?

Cheers

 

 

[RLY240]

Is it possible that you have mis-timed the cam timing and there is a valve hitting a piston and holding up the head?

[wildy55]

Hey

I was very careful with the timing and have turned the engine over by hand through many cycles. It turns freely and theres no contact between the two.

Guess the head's coming back off for investigation...

[Riceburner]

Was the head sitting up on one of the dowels?

[1600dave]

Was the gasket one of the ones that have slightly tacky sealant stuff in various spots  ?

 

Someone I know placed a corolla gasket with the sticky sealant down on the bench (and unknowingly on a washer on the bench)  while reassembling the motor, didn't notice the washer got stuck to the underside of the gasket and had a similar watery experience.

 

That certain someone is now very careful with cleanliness wen building engines.

 

 

[peter mc]

there is a L block that has a hole on the pasanger side that is difrent , some gaskets are crap and dont have that hole coverd , where is it leaking

[wildy55]

Okay before I strip her down I'm using the 240

Twin carbs and manifolds both in and ex. Is there anything in those with a 1983 l28 that might cause a leak in that area. Looks like its coming from the joint of head and block but might be from manifold area? Gasket was taken straight from wrapping so no contact there and I looked to see if all holes lined up. Which they did. Also head sat flat when offered up.

Any more thoughts?

Cheers

[nizm0zed]

Someone I know placed a corolla gasket with the sticky sealant down on the bench

 

It was you wasn't it 

 

Its ok, I was helping a friend to change a blown head over, showed him how to clean off the old gasket residue, while i was cleaning the underside of the head.

he cleaned it up then put the new headgasket in place, silly me didnt check to make sure it was good, just took his word for it.

He left a large patch of old gasket material there and it didnt work so well...

lesson learned for both of us.

 

Did you measure the head and block surface for longitudinal warpage with a flat edge?

You should do that everytime the head comes off to replace the gasket.

[1600dave]

might be from manifold area?

 

Its been a while since I played with an L6, do they have water running between head and manifold like an L4 ?

 

If so, you've tightened the manifolds down thoroughly ? Particularly the inlet ? All water pipes / hoses connected to the manifold ?

 

 

It was you wasn't it 

 

I can neither confirm nor deny that 

[be-zed]

I tend to agree with Gareth.J. that it may be a dowel or both of them as there are two.

They locate the head gasket and head when you assemble the motor . But if you have swapped around blocks and heads for a new combination then these dowels may be to long as they come in different lengths . No amount of tightening will fix the leak. They are just bits of tube and the head bolts do pass through them. I had a problem the same as you have when I was fitting in a metal (nismo) gasket.A real head ache so to speak over a couple bits of tube 1.5mm to long.

[wildy55]

Okay just to confirm;

Old head gasket was completely removed, not a trace of it left. Bought engine complete and was told it ran when it came out of the car. So as far as I can tell, this F54/N42 combo is original for this L28 - it didn't look like it had been apart before (no bolts had socket marks etc). When head was refitted, both the original dowels located and the head torqued up fine. There's no obvious gap between the two when bolted up...

Any more ideas?

[Gordo]

Put some coloured die in the water, wait till it runs out and then pull the head off. Have a look where its coming from. It does ant mater what theories you come up with. The head still needs to come off so you can fix it!!

[wildy55]

So the lesson learnt is not to use Payen gaskets!

On removal of the head, the gasket didn't fully cover two water holes. I was so busy making sure that the holes that were in the gasket lined-up with those on the head and block that I didn't pick it. Went with an APC gasket and now she's all good. Apart from swapping the 240 fuel pump cam onto the 280 cam bolt, it was a straight swap (though used the 240 sump and strainer). Fired up after about five turns and the carbs set for the 240 seem to idle and run smooth as is on the 280. Will know more after it's run in.

[Gordo]

Well done, good to hear you got it sorted, at least it was ant anything major. Cheers.

[peter mc]

  good to hear , was the hole around 4 5 cylinder on the manifold side

[wildy55]

There were two areas - between 2/3 and 5/6. It was where they'd cut the gasket to follow the contours of the holes, whereas the new one has a straight edge to it that mimics the edges of the head.

Thanks for all the help, fellas.