Ok I've gone through the ordeal of replacing all my valvetrain stuff because I cracked a valve. Taken about a month to get it up and running again because of waiting for parts and stuff. Anyway I just got the car back together again and I do a compression test first got some odd numbers
1- 260
2- 270
3- 270
4- 280

When I did it before it was
1- 260
2- 260
3- 260
4- 0 (because of the bad valve)

anyway I see hella steam coming from the exhuast manifold then I see hella water coming out of my thermo housing so I think I put the cap on wrong so I reseat it seams fine. Then hella water is dripping under the car from the BACK of the engine I'm like uh oh headgasket? so I crawl back there around #1 and I see hella coolant and then the little part thats hanging off of the headgasket I see droplets of oil forming. I'm like WTF!?

Then I pull the plugs out to check for coolant and 2-4 are kinda wet then I peer into the cylinders through the holes and sure enough 2-4 are wet. Then start up the car again theres a small puddle of water forming in muffler and hella white smoke coming out.

so did I mess up installing the headgasket? Can I retorque it maybe? Also this is a MLS headgasket but.. its not a mopar one its a ROL one looks pretty much the same but its blue and there are instructions that say to install it DRY because it has some kinda sealing compound on it already. I've installed 2 previous headgaskets all mopar MLS ones though and never had a problem, I used copper gasket sealer also on em but the ROL one I just left it dry I just cleaned out the old gasket material with a scotchbrite disc.

There is something I did wierd during the install but I don't think it should matter. I couldn't find torque specs for the MLS gasket so I searched for them and couldn't find them so I decided to use the chiltons which was like 25/20 then 50/20 the MLS instructions I got on the net (see my post :P) were the same cept it was 35 on the 2nd torqing. Well I started the first torque then started the 2nd torqing then I somehow found the MLS specs and compared em and went OH well the outer ones are 35 I'll just jack my torque wrench to 35 and do the outer ones then drive on.

Maybe I scratched the gasket or surface up O_o I kinda missed when I put it on with the cherry picker. But I made sure to lift the head up before I shifted it but maybe....

anyway thats all I can think for now, if it is the headgasket I think I wanna take it to a shop to redo it (shivers more money O_-')I just can't stomach working on that car anymore.

oh yeah hear are pix of the ROL gasket b4 I put the head on so I don't think I installed it backwards I have a pic of the first head gasket I took off and as you can see they do match up.




sorry for big ass pictures I just got that top one off my camera.

It looks like it was leaking previously. Is it me, or are 2 & 3 cleaner than the other two? If so, this is a mild inicator that there was water present in the cylinder while it was running.

As far as using sealant, I didn't put anything on mine either, but never had a problem with it. I'd clean the surfaces real good, inspect the head to make sure there's not nicks or anything on it, same with the head. I typically use a razor blade to clean the surfaces.

oh that I cleaned the two middle ones with a scotchbrite disc then rotated the crank shaft to clean the other two but I just decided to just use a razorblade. There was hella carbon on my valves and piston b4 cuz I was burning oil from what I thought was the head and still pretty sure was.

maybe i knicked it when i put it on though O_o oh well more downtime.

Originally posted by HadesOmega
O_o oh well more downtime.

Damn. Wish I could be of some help, but I can't figure it out either. HG is installed right as far as I can see, but you must have a score or something allowing the coolant into the cylinders and out of the block. That's really bad. :(

Best of luck to you, Hades. O_o <-- HadesOmega Style.

well a little update, I actually took it for a test drive around my block. Sounded a lot better after I let it idle for like 15 minutes and reset the ECU. Actually it ran a lot better after resetting the ECU sounded normal. My vacuum went from last nights 15hg to about 19hg and the needle was vibrating a tiny bit. it seemed to drive fine fine also.

I don't know how to explain it seems fine. but after throwing up coolant from god knows where in the back of the engine and pools of water coming out of the exhuast it seems fine now O_o but I wouldn't give it a clean bill of health yet, I'm still terrified something will happen on the road. I checked the codes also I got a 25 but thats because of that ghey 55mm tb I installed a while back.

anyway I'll take it for a longer drive later and see wats up maybe do a compression test again. Has ne1 had a similar experience after they put a new headgasket on? maybe head needed to get hot and expand to seal? never happened to me b4 O_o'

Originally posted by HadesOmega
Has ne1 had a similar experience after they put a new headgasket on? maybe head needed to get hot and expand to seal?

Not that I know of, although I can see why you might think that. We always use that copper spray-a-gasket stuff every time, and I have noticed a couple spots on the front of the block where it looks like it might have ran, as if it was washed away or something, but I've never seen any moisture. :shrug

Originally posted by HadesOmega
I'm still terrified something will happen on the road.

I hear ya. After blowing the tranny up twice in a week, and having a used stock clutch in there right next to a twice welded patch gives me about zero confidence in taking her out and autoXing her any time soon, but I'm all about the trial by fire scene, so I'll start tossing her around as soon as I can. Still, makes me nervous. :puke

Never use a non-OEM MLS gasket.

What head bolts did you use? New or used? Bolt or Stud? OEM or aftermarket?

If you re-used the OEM head bolts, it's not going to seal.

If you used brand new OEM head bolts, and torqued them to 50ftlbs, they aren't going to seal.
The spec is 24->46->48lbs + 1/4 turn for the large bolts
and 20->20->20ftlbs + 1/4 turn for the small ones.

If you used head bolts of any kind, and didn't check the depth of each hole, it might not seal due to a manufacturing defect (hole not drilled deep enough) common in 96-98 blocks.

Also, the 280psi compression is questionable, spec is 180-225psi. Are those 10.5:1 pistons?

yep they're 10.5:1

I used brand new OEM... err FEL-PRO OEM headbolts. I've reused the stock bolts twice and no problems so you think its the bolts then hmm.

Originally posted by HadesOmega
yep they're 10.5:1 I used brand new OEM... err FEL-PRO OEM headbolts. I've reused the stock bolts twice and no problems so you think its the bolts then hmm.

Those Torque T Yield bolts strecth, that's why it says 1/4 turn after you torque to ##. So if you re-use them, they're probably weak and can't hold enough pressure.

i re-used my stock head bolts 3 times now. Never had a head gasket problem. FYI I run 11-13 lbs of boost all day long.

Originally posted by RxR_Eclipse
i re-used my stock head bolts 3 times now. Never had a head gasket problem. FYI I run 11-13 lbs of boost all day long.

it's kinda like russian roulette, or crank walk.

I'd say a set of 10.5:1 pistons, AND forced induction more than warrants the investment in a set of ARP head studs and a new DODGE/CHRYSLER head gasket. Emphasis on the ARPs. You need them.

RxR- what year is your block? If it's 95 or 99, you have a much better chance of not having the bolt hole machining error that causes completely stock headgaskets to leak. If it's 96-98... damn. You're just seriously lucky :D.

At any rate, our engines blow headgaskets in stock engines quite often. You're running double the cylinder pressure with those pistons and boost. On a weaker headgasket.

EDIT: Have your machinist check the head for warping.

she is a 95 block. I'm going to be using new APR's in the next rebuild. It just sounds cool. "I got ARP head studs".

so mine probably doesn't have that defect?

anyway its been running for about a week and I haven't had any major problems, sometimes it doesn't start because its not getting enough FP but that's because I installed that SFMU. And its currently NA right now.

I'm still a little freaked out about what happened when i first started it though. the vacuum is pretty steady so I'm hoping I have nothing to worry about. Just to be safe I installed my EGT probe onto my NA manifold, nice to have all gauges working again ^_^