Solution to photos of my blown head cover

vhatley · #1 09-02-2010, 01:54 PM

Took a minute, but I think I have it now...About the blown head gasket/cover, here they are. The first two are the cover and the gasket, pretty obvious. I feel like an idiot.

Kevlarr · #2 09-02-2010, 01:58 PM

Wow! Looks like the nuts were really loose. You may want to dress the jug too. The head bolts pulled out of my BGF motor too when I tore it down but I just re-used 'em.

vhatley · #3 09-02-2010, 02:05 PM

Yeah, I guess I didn't realize that they would loosen off, in bigger motors they don't. Gonna buy upper and lower gaskets, exhaust and intake, too I think. BTW, will the sandpaper on glass thing give me a good enough seal, or should I buy a new cover? Oh, yeah...except the head nuts and loctite.

Kevlarr · #4 09-02-2010, 02:08 PM

It should work just fine. If you've ever had a head decked it's the same process only on a smaller scale.

**2door** · #5 09-02-2010, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vhatley

Yeah, I guess I didn't realize that they would loosen off, in bigger motors they don't. Gonna buy upper and lower gaskets, exhaust and intake, too I think. BTW, will the sandpaper on glass thing give me a good enough seal, or should I buy a new cover? Oh, yeah...except the head nuts and loctite.

The most important thing is keeping the surface flat as you clean up the gasket surface area. You don't want to sand an angle into it or have high or low spots. Go slow and don't apply too much pressure but concentrate on keeping the mating surfaces flush with each other. I hope that was understandable.
If I can make one more suggestion it would be to discard the chrome acorn nuts that come with most engines and use shouldered hex nuts in their place; especially on the cylinder head. There have been reports of the acorn nuts tightening on the stud before they make good contact with the head which can lead to blown gaskets as easily as loose nuts. Proper torque is also important. 10 to 12 foot pounds (110-120 inch pounds) is a good figure to shoot for. Criss-cross your tightening pattern...side to side.
Many of us shy away from LocTite but if you feel you need it, do not use the red lable product. You'll have trouble later if you ever need to disassemble anything. Use the blue label type only...if you must. It's not necessary.
Tom

vhatley · #6 09-02-2010, 07:27 PM

Hey, tom, excellent advice, and i have seen a resurface job, kevlar. Thanks for such precise instructions. Didn't know about the loctite, but you can never be too sure. I'll not use it on the cyl studs. I am glad for the torque specs though, I would have went for around 20 ft.-lb. Your instruction was quite understandable. Give yall a report when I get her done, just need the patience for the gaskets now.

muddybike · #7 09-02-2010, 10:31 PM

Why all the hate on the locktight? Get the blue and and its easy to break , and your bolts don't loosen off. I see no reason not to lock tight everything.

**2door** · #8 09-02-2010, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muddybike

Why all the hate on the locktight? Get the blue and and its easy to break , and your bolts don't loosen off. I see no reason not to lock tight everything.

We only advise against the red lable product which when used with aluminum castings can be next to impossible to remove without applying heat in excess of what the aluminum can take. If installed/ assembled correctly there is really no need for thread locking products on these engines and kits. Vibration can be an issue nevertheless proper installation and tightening of fasteners will negate the need for LocTite or any other thread locking materials.
Tom

killercanuck · #9 09-02-2010, 11:13 PM

There's no hate Muddy, it was just a warning of the red! Which is understandable because you have to torch the red to get'r loose. Blue doesn't need quite the intensity to get'r loose like you said, bro.

Good luck re-surfacing your mating points vHately! Keep her even!

Nougat · #10 09-03-2010, 01:17 PM

Tangential comment about Loctite:

Not long ago, I replaced the front stabilizer links on my 2002 Saturn L200. In order to remove the stock ones, you're supposed to put a large star socket into a hole in the end of the link bolt that goes through the stabilizer bar, and then turn the nut on end of the link bolt. If you don't do this, the whole joint will just rotate, and nothing happens. Of course, this star hole is all rusted out after being under my car for eight years.

Wouldn't be a big problem, even though I only had hand tools, except that there was blue Loctite on the threads. After I broke the nut loose, I still had to put a lot of pressure on the star socket, which ended up stripping the rusted hole, and I had to cut the bolts on the driver's side off with a cutting wheel.

Suffice it to say that I am not a fan of Loctite where it doesn't need to be.