High compression head coolant leaking

C

captain j

Member
Hi, I got a problem with the new high compression 5.5 to 1 head. I recently had my engine fully rebuilt. When I got the engine back put coolant in it and warmed up the engine. Within a few minutes I had coolant coming out of the side of the head, long story short I pulled it back off and it must of gotten cracked when it was resurfaced. I ended up getting a new 5.5 to 1 high compression head with the recommended #8090 modern head gasket. I put it together torqued in recommended sequence up to 65ft lbs. starting at 20ft lbs then 35 then 50 then 65ftlbs. I end up getting tiny droplets of coolant that seep through to the edges to the gasket to the outside of the head. It's in random spots around the whole head but mostly the worst of it is the front passenger side of the head.
I took it back apart everything looked ok. I cleaned the engine block and head then put a new gasket back on it with a little ultra black rtv on both sides and of course it's doing the same thing with tiny droplets of coolant seeping out around the edge of the head.
Any ideas on what to do next? Use copper gasket? Pay to have a brand new head resurfaced?
Thanks josh.
 
I would get rid of that new type head gasket,I asked around at a Pa.A club and they told me they were having problems with them. I used a copper head gasket coated with copper coat and used they grade 8 studs torqued to 65 pounds and had no problem.
 
Did you follow the directions correctly ?

Run engine until warm;
Let set and cool for 24 hours;
Re-torque head.

This is the way I did both 5.5 heads I have on 2 A's and have had no problems.
I did not use any additional ATV and do not believe you should.
I only torque my heads to 55 lbs.

Ron
 
I have a stock head and "modern" gasket torqued to 55 ft/lb and ZERO seepage. I retorqued about 4 times before the nuts didn't move any more and will torque again after a couple of 100 miles but so far, I'm very happy with NO seepage. My old copper gasket did seep but I had the head resurfaced before install this time.

SD
 
Snyders told me to torque their 5.5 HC head to 55 foot pounds so as not to risk pulling up a head stud from the block. They also said to use a modern gasket and no adhesive.
 
The stock head on the rebuilt engine didn't seep but it was cracked. I did follow the directions on letting it warm up. I put the head on yesterday torqued. Put coolant in it today then warmed up the engine for 20 min. Shortly after it started seeping after it was turned off. I will now wait until tomorrow to retorque after it's completly cooled down. This is what I did last time and after it had been cooled and retorqued it still seeped coolant.
 
captian j we have had heads seep a little water (stock, Brumfield, and others) sometimes you just have to add some stop leak in the radiator. wont hurt a thing, and you will sleep tonight.
 
Just had a problem with a friends new 6:1 head already torqued 3 times and grade 8 studs. Wouldn't start, bad coil. Got it started and only running on three cylinders. Coolant on #2 plug. The owner removed head today and related that the nuts weren't very tight. The head nuts need to be re-torqued until they will not move at 55 foot pounds.
I re-torqued my stock head (no extra sealant) with this gasket 6 times until I could no longer remove any slack and I check every few hundred miles. There is lots of good info here about head gaskets and torque. Something for every one.
Be sure to check your engine oil for coolant. This morning after setting over night the aforementioned engine had a bit of coolant in the crankcase so a couple of flush out oil changes are in order.

Chet
 
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All good info, ill retorque it a few times and see it it stops. If not I'll try the stop leak. I really don't want to drain it and take the head off again.
Do you guys always torque when cold or when it's hot??
 
The block was surfaced in the rebuild. I think the block isn't the problem due to first head sealing ok, and he used a copper gasket.
 
A good stop leak is "BARS" , you no longer have to drain it out of the water system after running the engine unless you want too. I like to use it to stop new water hoses from leaking as I use original type water pump clamps. It will also seal the water passages around the head. I personally drain the water system after using when I know there are no leaks.

Ron
 
I would not use any type of stop leak they will not last long and the leak will come back worst especially once you had coolant in there it leaves an oily film making it hard for any stop leak to stick to
Remove the head and remove all the studs you need to make the deck flat and clean without any scratches this is the cause of most leaks so be careful with scrapers and never use harsher then 600 grit
Check all of the deck with a good machine straight edge
1 thing I find common is the stud hole pulling up so this is the cause of most head not torqueing down correct take a hand chamfer bit and chamfer the hole around 1/16th
Then do as tbird described
remember that steel studs expand more when hot then cast iron heads so re-torque every 20-30 deg (5-10 minutes) from start up
 
When I installed my 5.5 Snyder head 7 years and 14,000 miles ago, water seeped above the serial number. I used the recommended felpro gasket. I installed a second felpro gasket with the same results. An old timer told me the fix was to install a copper head gasket and put a thin coat of axle grease on both sides. I took his advice. Torqued it to 55lbs. Brought the engine up to operating temp and re-torqued to 55lbs. Took it out for an hour 1/2 ride and re-torqued to 55lbs. Never had any seepage since. BTW, I re-torque the head at operating temp every spring.
 
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