A while back I did a head gasket job on my rs, it went smoothly no major problems. After completing everything correctly I started it up and the bitch still smokes white, but all my other problems were solved (leaking valve cover, and spraying out a bolt hole in valve cover).

I know now the problem is more than likely the head needs to be resurfaced and checked for cracks etc.

My question is, if the head warped, will the block warp too? I really don't want to take the whole engine apart and take the head and block in, unless I really, really have too.

EDIT:
I also heard you can check the surface with a ruler, but only a solid metal one? Can I use this method to check the block?

could be anything, valve stem seats, piston rings,etc..
compression test dry and wet will help narrow it down

Assuming that it IS the head that is warped and not something else, the answer to your original question is "not necessarily".

Just because the head warps doesn't NECESSARILY mean that the block will as well. Remember, head is aluminum, block is iron, so they will have different tendencies to warp. It, of course, is a very good idea to check when you have the head off. When i did a HG on my Cav, the head was warped so much they had to take 10 thousands off to straighten it. WOW! (yes, it loves to ping with no knock sensor :) ). The block was fine.

The way you check (or at least what I did) was to go out and get a straightedge--you might have to hunt a bit for a good one, lay it in various orientations on the head and take some feeler gauges to gauge how much clearence there is between the edge and the head. If it's out of spec, you have to get it milled. You can do the same on the block. FYI--it's called "decking the block" if you have to get it milled for trueness (straightness). If stuff is to get milled, you want to keep it to the smallest amount possible, since excessive milling will change several characteristics of the engine, like compression ratio and timing.

Brian

Ah, thank you for the response.

Originally posted by ForceFed420a
Assuming that it IS the head that is warped and not something else, the answer to your original question is "not necessarily". Just because the head warps doesn't NECESSARILY mean that the block will as well. Remember, head is aluminum, block is iron, so they will have different tendencies to warp. It, of course, is a very good idea to check when you have the head off. When i did a HG on my Cav, the head was warped so much they had to take 10 thousands off to straighten it. WOW! (yes, it loves to ping with no knock sensor :) ). The block was fine. The way you check (or at least what I did) was to go out and get a straightedge--you might have to hunt a bit for a good one, lay it in various orientations on the head and take some feeler gauges to gauge how much clearence there is between the edge and the head. If it's out of spec, you have to get it milled. You can do the same on the block. FYI--it's called "decking the block" if you have to get it milled for trueness (straightness). If stuff is to get milled, you want to keep it to the smallest amount possible, since excessive milling will change several characteristics of the engine, like compression ratio and timing. Brian