As the title says. One pull through 4th and 5th gear tonight. I come home and my truck left a nice trail of oil all the way down the drive....and a nice puddle where i parked.

I'm not sure how to keep this thing together. This is the 3rd gasket. #1 was stock so i saw that coming. #2 blew within 90 miles of putting studs and o-rings in. I'm thinking it may have gotten nicked when the head was set back on.

Now 4000 miles later I blew the front out of another one. Magically 3 days after i put the water/meth on....i thought that was supposed to help the engine darn it.

Oh what to do what to do!!

 

Take it for what it's worth, but I think you're running too much timing.

 

Have you ever thought of running a thicker HG to drop the compression?

 

If youre blowing the HG with studs and o-rings then I would say something else is wrong. Installation? O-ring installation?

 

Well i have been running a stock gasket. I've talked to many people who say that is more than enough.

Not sure what my other options are at this point. I obviously want to put it together correctly but I had the bright idea to restore an 1877 colonial and assets are at a minimum if you get my drift.

MikeD, you are probably on to something with the timing. That by itself was probably at its limits. Adding the Meth, increasing the cyl pressure, pushed her over the edge. I was under the impression that with the studs and rings i could push it further.

Need to wait for HOHN to get in here, throw out a bunch of numbers, and be darn near 100% correct.

 

How did you prep the block? How did you torque the head-up? Did you often did you re-check the torque. You need more than one go at torquing the head. Is your head/block true? Sorry for the question, just trying to help out. Whats your mixture of methanol and water? You pulling big boost numbers?

 

Get a set of Fire rings, that should be able to hold near anything. That is what I went with from Joe Hellmann and so far so good (about 150 miles on it in 2 days) lol. Your block could also be warped too...

 

Block was within spec. Head was decked well past spec. Studs were run down to 155 initially, I have checed them several times and they all pop at 150. Meth is just -20 washer fluid (35% i think?). Lastly boost is 48-53psi. I dont know if id call that big?

 

Also are you letting the engine get to full operating temperature before going over 10-15PSI? And when your torquing your studs are you doing a counter-clockwise circle working out from the middle?

 

How much did you deck the block? I would go with a thicker head gasket. The HO ran an higher compression, decking the block pushes it over the edge. You could also try a copper gasket, that would fix the head gasket problem.

 

I forget the numbers on what came off. It was a bit though. I have a call into the shop that did the machining. Hoping they keep records. And Yes the head was torqued correctly, and operating temps were always up to par before i beat on it.

 

I dunno which is the $1k gasket, but there are some options out there. PDW can get you a marine gasket set up for a 24v. Studs, marine gasket, and o-ring is a proven combo, although your current setup sounds like a nightmare for a HG =P
The thing people always say about the copper gaskets is that they leak coolant =(

 

I don't claim any specific knowledge of the HRVP, but from my understanding one of it's features is increased timing. Couple that along with using the EZ and water/meth with the higher compression HO motor, wow.

I would call Scheid and talk to them about their MLS gasket. It's a .030 over gasket with fire rings which will drop your C/R about a point, that will help a bunch. The only sticking point will be if you can still use your o-ringed head? Another option is to run a .020 Cummins gasket or check with Cometic. The problems I've heard with the copper gaskets is that they aren't good for street use as the seep coolant until the engine comes up to temp.

If you're going to run the HRVP ditch the EZ and run just the TST. Use the water sans methanol for cooling.

Edit: Just wanted to add that the Scheid's new MLS gasket doesn't require the block be cut for fire rings. They do recommend using 14mm studs.

 

If the block was in spec. is probably wasn't decked. In my mind, planing the head won't make much difference with regards to C/R as our heads are flat.

 

It won't make any difference because they are flat. But the valves should be sunk to compensate for the amount taken off...