Dixit

iTrader: (1)

I just put on new AFR205 heads and spent over 12hrs doing it. I spent over 3hrs making sure each bolt had ZERO coolant in them by running many runs of paper towel down each bolt hole.

Then put on the new .040 cometic headgasket after thouroughly cleaning the block mating surface. Made sure no oils were present by cleaning it down with brake parts cleaner. Put the heads on, put in ARP head bolts with ARP moly lube.

Torqued sequence from 30 to 50 to 70ft lbs. Turned the car on, been good. No problems. This was about 10days ago now. I have HPTuners and on all my scans nothing shows up wrong, I got the car purring just fine and it handles great.

Now time to time when I come to a stop at a light, I see a bit of light smoke come up from my hood. Smells like coolant and oil burning.

I look at the engine and on the drivers side and passenger side the cradle is wet with a brownish liquid so that looks like oil. On the passenger side right near the AC compressor I can see oil near the mating surface, but I dont see anything spewing out when the car is running. Ive checked the coolant levels for the past week and it has not moved, the oil level has not moved either to my knowledge, however everytime I clear those areas by spraying it down, it comes back from just a simple drive to work (about 18miles local driving).

I dont know what could be causing this. I mean I know it has to be leaking from the block/head mating surface. If I didnt clean the bolt holes correctly I assume I wouldve cracked the block on torquing the bolt and would definetely tell that when the coolant starts spewing out when the car is running. But dont see any of that. Not sure what this could be.

Im thinking about retorquing the bolts down (as they recommend) but I know 95% of the people who do head swaps dont do it anyways. Im cringing on just having to retorque them since I have to drop the headers out the way again.

Any suggestions?

Dixit

Dixit

iTrader: (1)

No one knows? I saw the other thread about leaking on the Cometic gaskets.

I talked to SDPC and they clearly told me the Cometics should be installed dry, as I did. But there are others here who say copper sealant should be used. Im starting to think if its leaking there.

I mean it feels good when driving, if I floor it in 2nd it does haul. But lately its been surging/stumpling while holding rpms like if Im crusing at 80mph, you can feel split second surges/stumples. But not really trying to take it to redline if this is definetely a problem, dont want to cause any other problems.

Dixit

Z06-Dave

Is it possible the oil/coolant is puddled somewhere you cant see and when you come to a stop it spills out a drop or two and burns off? Did you get the dipstick back in the correct place?

SideStep

I have done AFRs with Cometics twice now, both times I used copper sealant. Absolutely no issues and lately I have been hitting it hard every day...

I also did a set for mfrnka over at CorvetteForum using the copper sealant on an old 98 block. Sealed fine no issues....

pewter 01 SS

iTrader: (5)

had a similar problem but mine was do to a broken head gasket... it kinda sucked because its a new motor with afr's but now it doesnt leaked.. I had the same questions as you and I only found out where it was coming from because a friend let me borrow a tool that connects to your radiator and by pumping it lets you know how much psi your putting and once you reach a certain psi water started leaking from under the heads right by the motor mounts.. if it wasnt for this tool i would of never found it.. you should try and find a tool similar to this and do the same thing.. Also leaking is weird sometimes it can be leaking at one place and be dripping somewhere else because the water follow the lines to different places.. because my motor is new i didnt bother putting copper sealent because i really wanted to know where it was coming from.. you should first of all check all the lines and if no visible leakage is notisable then maybe you should try and get that tool that I described.. you never now but maybe it could be leaking from the head maybe you didnt torque something right... good luck I know its a pain trying to find the leakin but you have to do it..

Dixit

iTrader: (1)

Yea I see it seeping somewhere from the head matting surface. Im going to try to retorque the bolts under the valvetrain (as they are the easiest to get to) and if they seem loose, then will proceed to the lower head bolts. But if they are torqued fine, then most likely the whole head is going to have to come off AGAIN (god i hate this).

I shouldve just put copper sealant, but 2-3 people were telling me strictly to install them dry.

Dixit

Dixit

iTrader: (1)

Yea cant be the puddles because I actually hosed down the cradle area and dried it with a towel, and one 16mi drive to work i can see the coolant/oil puddle again.

Yeap got that dipstick back in the right place. Put some sealant on there before sticking it back in.

Dixit

DrkPhx

iTrader: (15)

Almost everyone here will tell you the same. But to play it safe, I used the copper sealant with my Cometics.

M6WS6

iTrader: (1)

I had a small coolant leak on the driver side, check and make sure you have your coolant temp sensor tight and sealed(personal experience). Might take care of the driver side. Mine looked like the gasket was leaking, but it runs down from the sensor and then runs along the crack there by your gasket, making it look like its there. mines dry now, jsut thought it was something for yah to think about

pewter 01 SS

iTrader: (5)

this is a good one too.. also might want to check your freez plugs on the heads i had a friend who actually had to weld them put dont know what was wrong.. either way it wouldnt hurt to check

robertbartsch

I've heard abuot a lot of problems with cometic head gaskets. I suspect they are trickey but I have never used them...

If the gaskets did not seal the first time I don;t beleive re-torking them will fix it.

Rip it apart again and and use factory head gaskets this time.

The 12 hours and 3 hours seems very quick to me but I work slow and don;t use air tools sparingly.... anyway it is essential to get the liquid out of the holes and to clean the deck well ....but you know that....

robertbartsch

what final tork reading did you give the heads?

Dixit

iTrader: (1)

Well robertbartsch, Ive seen people in shops like A&A and others say they can actually swap the heads out in about 3-4hrs, but they are experts. I spent alot of time getting the block clean cause of the rubber material from the GM MLS gasket stuck to the block and then running the paper towel down each hole and chasing the bolt holes to get the gunk out.

I torqued them intially first round at 30, then 2nd pass at 50, then final pass at 70ft lbs. Went over the bolts one more time to make sure the 70ft lbs was correct and each one was spot on, then torqued the smaller top ones to 22ft lbs. Everything felt good on the torque.

Now I put a new Temp sensor in, put teflon tape around the threads and snugged it up, I can check it but 100% sure its not leaking from there cause I didnt feel it wet around there.

I got a leak on both sides so dont think its just the coolant temp sensor.

Im going to try to retorque them tonight and see if thats even the problem, if not, going to have to pull the heads off again. This time it may not be me doing this, may have to get someone else to do it, I dont have the time this time around to do another head swap.

Also dont want to use the GM MLS gasket because then my CR will drop to 10.3:1, so SDPC sent me a .040 says it will bump the CR to about 10.8:1 (which is accurate according to my calculations on a 66cc AFR head). Dont think its the freeze plugs on the heads since they are brand new. Unless they are truly lose which would be sad.

Dixit

DrkPhx

iTrader: (15)

Just to clarify the 70ft lb spec for the ARP bolts is when you use the ARP moly lube. If you use any other lube (moly or otherwise) the higher spec listed in the instructions must be used. I called their tech line to confirm this.


I used the .040 Cometic for mine to optimize quench and static CR so I understand your reluctance to switch to the GM gasket.

SideStep

Just pull the heads and if the gaskets are still in good shape re-use them... plenty of us have done this... Use the Copper sealant this time and coat both sides....

Dixit

iTrader: (1)

Yeap, I used the AFR moly lube.

Sidestep, I just dont want to pull the heads again, I had the time 2weekends ago, this weekend slammed, will have to get a shop to do this for me.

Dixit

GM Tech

I would try using the pressure tester or even better UV Dye. I use it (dye) for those hard to find leaks,espcially the leaks that start in the front and are evidenced in the rear. You can trace the leak back to the point of origin much more effectively. They make it for coolant, eng oil, and trans fluid. All are different colors under uv light. I use a blue led pen light and some yellow safety glasses(<--enhances dye trace). Dealers usually charge .5 to 1 hr labor to perform. Considering what your up against, it may be worth positive verification.