ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

I blew both head gaskets on my 355 LT1. They were the .026" Mr. Gaskets. I think the coating came off on my gaskets and thats why it happened. I put the head gasket on when I was checking PTV clearance cause it was clooooosssseeee. Im not sure if that coating matters much, what do you guys think? heads were just milled and block was checked for straightness. I have used these gaskets before with no issues.


I have ARP bolts and Victor Reinz gaskets now. I have heard so many different things on the ARP head bolt 134-3601 torque specs. Some have said they get 65, others say 70-75. Can anyone confirm on this?

I will probably go with 25-45-75 with the ARP moly lube. Will this work?

robsquikz28

iTrader: (246)

You probably didnt tighten them properly, just sell the studs and buy arp bolts. YOu cant mess those up lol. Then put on some new gaskets and call it the day. Did you spray the car then they blew or just cruising around and they went?

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

I've had ARP bolts when they went and they were torqued in correct sequence from 25-45-65 lb-ft. Not sure if that was the correct torque value, but I am thinking it was the gasket coating that came off that caused them to go.

And they were no good from the start really, I was burning a little bit of coolant everytime I drove it. Still made great dyno numbers even with the problem. And there was no coolant in the oil or vice versa.

This time around I have the victor reinz .026" gaskets and the same bolts. I just want to make sure that I shouldnt torque them to 75 lb-ft this time?

SpeedDensityZ

iTrader: (5)

I have the Victor Reinz. On my car and so far I haven't had any problems. I used the ARP rod bolts and torqued them to spec per the Haynes manual. The only problem could be the coating when you checked the ptv clearance. I had enough clearance, it was no where near contact without the gasket on the car so that is the only differnece that I can tell. I am probably going to spray the motor next week after the tune. We'll see how they hold up to a 150 shot.

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

I will probably torque these to 75 lb-ft. I seen a ARP installation papers that say 75 lb-ft on it.

I hope that does the trick. It wasnt really a "blown" head gasket. It was just leaking slightly. I think it was the coating, when I checked PTV clearance. I ended up needing to cut my pistons.

airfix

iTrader: (30)

Ya if the coating comes off there pooched. That happened to me but the coating came off while I was taking them out of the package.

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

oh wow. yeah a **** ton of the coating came off when I was checking PTV clearance with them and tightening bolts. That has to be what happened.

wow, cant believe I just had a simple noob error

duh

iTrader: (16)

TQ the bolt to whatever ARP says...if it's 75 then go to 75. I usually do 35-50-75.....

The coatings being taken off when you did the PTV check is exactly what caused the slight leak. The gasket is no longer uniform across it's length, kinda like a warped head/block....

Clean the junk of, and slap some new gaskets on and go to town....you're numbers should get better as well.

Wicked94Z

iTrader: (26)

i'd just check PTV with no gasket, and just add the gasket thickness to the PTV number you got. arp lube + 75 ft lbs + aluminum heads doesnt sound good to me. i do my studs to 70ft lbs with 30wt oil. never had a head gasket issue or a coolant leakage issue

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-m...que-specs.html

scroll down to post #4 and the member posted a pic of the install sheet that comes with the bolts. This is where I got 75 lb-ft from. Can anyone confirm this?

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

do you guys really think I might pick up compression/power without a leaky gasket? It wasnt leaking much, but enough to tell it was losing coolant.


I usually do that, but my valves were hitting my pistons, so I wanted to see if there was a big difference by doing that and retarding the cam. no dice. had to flycut them

duh

iTrader: (16)

your best bet is to call arp and give them the part number and have them tell you....keep the 3rd party issues out of it....

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

yeah good idea. I want to get it right this time. I hear you can look it up on their website, but I couldnt find it

Wicked94Z

iTrader: (26)

A head bolt needs more torque to acheive the same clamping force as a head stud. All i know is with an aluminum head and a head stud... going over about 70 ft lbs and you're compressing the aluminum head itself, and probably efffecting the flatness of the head surface. I always just use oil as a lubricant. They changed the formulation on their moly lube, so they changed their recommended torque values on their stuff.

ThreeHonks

iTrader: (10)

yeah, I noticed they went to that ultra-moly lube. My best bet is to just give them a call, but I did 65 lb-ft with oil so that may have not been enough, in part with the gasket coating coming off.

Wicked94Z

iTrader: (26)

yea it's funny they recommend using their moly lubricant, touting more accurate/consistant torque readings and clamp loads. well how the hell is it more consistant if they change the formulation? 30wt oil seems plenty consistant to me, and at 1.69/qt, you spend about 1/2 a cent for all 34 studs. be sure to post up what arp says...

Wicked94Z

iTrader: (26)

hm reread the thread and i guess im the only one talking about studs... just disregard all my input

95z28onjuice

iTrader: (-2)

i like to coat both side with copper spray so glue the gasket in. KNock on wood, have never blown a gasket yet and i use to spray 200 on a set-up i had

Torque Fiend

iTrader: (6)

does torque angle not matter when using arp bolts?

speed_demon24

iTrader: (6)

You used oil and not thread sealer with head bolts?