18 replies to this topic

[kscheck]

I have just finished reinstalling the head on my 1275 engine and as soon as I topped up the coolant got a leak from between the head and block at the front of the engine. It will leak at a steady rate from multiple places. I don’t know what went wrong. I cleaned the head and block thoroughly with cleaner and scotch-brite pads (nothing aggressive) and torqued the nuts to 45 Ft-Lbs in 3 steps (15-30-45) in the pattern called out in the manual. I used the head gasket from minispares in this kit GUG701186HS. A visual inspection showed it the same as the one removed. I’m a bit upset as I thought I was very diligent in the replacement of the gasket and I have done this type of repair on other vehicles before. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

 

 

[Dan]

Did you re-torque it after one heat cycle?

[kscheck]

I have not started it yet. As soon as the coolant got to the level of the head it started leaking. I drained the coolant to stop it leaking all of the floor. Also I checked the bores and see no coolant there so its an external leak only. Also, i did install the gasket dry. The old gasket seemd to have some type of sealant on the edges. I have never used sealant on other head gaskets before. I did replace the studs with ARP items as some of the threads on the old one looked SLIGHTLY worn. 45 Ft-Lbs is a good torque value?

[coopdog]

I've fitted 2 head gaskets but always get the same leak, pain in the bum

[Gremlin]

Why was the head off?

[kscheck]

I was fitting a new Smiths water temp gauge and had the port for the gauge bulb drilled and tapped in the head. The port was blank on my head and the bulb is too big to fit in the exising thermostat housing port.

[kscheck]

Coopdog, what did you do for your leaks?

[Dusky]

Always heard that you may not top the coolant up too full before the engine is hot or it will leak. Probably that the leak is gone after running the engine..

[Gremlin]

As Dusky says, some head gaskets are designed to be run up to temperature before adding the coolant

[kscheck]

So do you think it ok to start it up as is and bring it to temperature then do the retorque?

[Gremlin]

Depends if the water has mixed with the oil, if it has you don't want to start it, can't think of a way of checking without draining all the oil as it won't show on the dipstick as it hasn't been mixed up

[kscheck]

Looking good so far. I did check and there was no water in the oil as I did an oil change. It started right up and brought it to a high idle (1200 RPM) with the rad only half full and the cap off. I had no water leaks so I pressed on and let it come to temperature about (75C). The radiator cap was left off as to not build up pressure. It is currently cooling down and I will do a re-torque on the head nuts. I will reply in a few days to report the outcome but I'm pretty confident as of now! Thanks for all the responses and hopefully this will help someone down the road.

[cradley-heathen]

i have got no idea how many head gaskets i have changed over the years, but i have never had this happen, and i have never heard of having to run the engine up to temperature before adding the coolant to get it to seal either.

 

i did re-do a head gasket for some a couple of months ago though after they had this happen. i basically started again, but used the exact same type of gasket he used (from minispares) and filled it with water before starting it too. i assumed he hadnt cleaned the mating faces up properly when he did it.

[kscheck]

This is the first time I had it happen also. Never seen something like it. Rest asured the mating surfaces were SPOTLESS! There were no remenants of of gasket material and the surfaces were wiped down with cleaner before assembly.

[coopdog]

Coopdog, what did you do for your leaks?

They sealed after a while.

I think my torque wrench is out though that may be the issue you have too?