Ok, i sent my car in to get timing belt, waterpump, ect changed for preventative maintenance. At the same time, I had him check what appeared to be an oil pan gasket leak.

Well, today I got my car back and I asked him about the leak--He said that its not the oil pan gasket, but the head gasket. And thats its no big deal, just keep an eye on the oil until you get the $$ for a new gasket. Or, he said you can take off the valve cover and tighten a 15mm bolt on the driver side to see if that helps (if its a bit loose).

To those quite familiar with the 420a motor, does this sound right? Is it bad that its leaking? Its not leaking alot, but its leaked onto the oil pan where it made me think thats where its comming from. Anywyas, thanks for any thoughts / opinions-

yea its that son of a bitch headbolt... its a few threads too long, so after a while it flexes out and doesnt seal properly.

search for it or IM me -> ajnast4r

YIM? i only have MSN.. So what can I do about it? Can I replace that bolt entirely with a shorter one without messing anything up? Or just tighten it up a bit?

You can't tighten it down as the hole isnt threaded down enough for the provided bolt. You would have to yank the bolt out and shave it down 2 threads. But go through the correct untorqing and retorqing (spelling) on all head bolts in the correct order per the service manual.

i got a suggestion. If your going performance and you got the money have a thicker head gasket put in. Itll raise the head a little. A little more difficult and pricey then shaving a bolt but itll be there when you need it.

Originally posted by jayden1
i got a suggestion. If your going performance and you got the money have a thicker head gasket put in. Itll raise the head a little. A little more difficult and pricey then shaving a bolt but itll be there when you need it.

abslutly do not do that..

Get ARP head studs and new gasket. It will never happen again.

Nick
97RS

turbo8u> shut your SUCK
ZAO684: NIPPLE warning...maybe>?
turbo8u> yea i was a window licker on the short bus in junior high

Originally posted by Collente

Originally posted by jayden1 i got a suggestion. If your going performance and you got the money have a thicker head gasket put in. Itll raise the head a little. A little more difficult and pricey then shaving a bolt but itll be there when you need it.

abslutly do not do that.. Get ARP head studs and new gasket. It will never happen again.

A more professional solution, yes.

It's not nearly as common as people like to think it is.

Keep your eye on the oil level, drive the car. Unless you have low compression on the #4 cylinder, you don't have a headgasket leak bad enough to concern yourself with. People forget the block tilts backwards, so oil on the back of the motor will happen anytime anything up top leaks. I believe that at least half of the HG replacements that i read about were completely unnecessarily done.

I agree completely. As long as your compression is good and you aren't mixing coolant and oil, don't worry about it.

*sigh*- wow thanks guys. When he started talking head gasket when I was thinking oil pan, im thought that sounds a bit serious. Thanks for all the info. Perhaps I can get that bold cut by 2 threads next time I replace my valve cover gasket. Im just glad its nothing extreme! :thumbsup

Originally posted by .bs0d
Perhaps I can get that bold cut by 2 threads next time I replace my valve cover gasket

Doesn't work that way. Can't remove a headbolt without removing the cams.

Like Matt and I said: If the compression isn't low, and it's not mixing coolant and oil, it's not really a problem. Watch the oil level.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Doesn't work that way. Can't remove a headbolt without removing the cams.

does anyone know which factory-turbo dsm engine didnt have head bolts that were so hard to get to? hehehehhhehehehhehehehehehe

mixing, OR burnning one of the two.

Originally posted by DarkOne
It's not nearly as common as people like to think it is. Keep your eye on the oil level, drive the car. Unless you have low compression on the #4 cylinder, you don't have a headgasket leak bad enough to concern yourself with. People forget the block tilts backwards, so oil on the back of the motor will happen anytime anything up top leaks. I believe that at least half of the HG replacements that i read about were completely unnecessarily done.

But you have to keep an eye on it. It can only get worse.

And you don't it to get to the point where are loosing compression, and mixing coolant and oil, then you can start to mess shit up.



Exile Racing Technologies: http://www.exileracing.com
una salus victus
It's holding down the garage floor right now.

I have that problem too. Just pop the hood and check the oil every time you get gas. It's a good thing to do while your waiting for the tank to fill up. :7

Look close at the cam position sensor, the o-ring behind it will leak, drip down from the sensor and lands in just the right spot to make it look like a head gasket oil leak.

Does anyone know about the average cost to have the ARP headstuds installed? I just had my Headgasket replaced about 4000 miles ago and now the dealership says that I have a headgasket leak...