What Does An LS3 Head Gasket Blow Look Like?
05-29-2012, 11:18 PM
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What Does An LS3 Head Gasket Blow Look Like? I have been a LT1 guy for a while and am used to the single layer gaskets and have a mutli-layer new guy question.
My 2002 Z06 ran hot (240 degrees) in traffic a few days ago and about a mile away from my home started blowing white smoke and moisture. It is a built LS2 Twin Turbo 402 Stroker with an LS3 head gasket. Symptoms are now- it is running warmer than I am used to on a test drive a few days layer, and showed a 10% static compression drop on the entire passenger bank (Drivers bank was around 210/Passenger is in the low 190s). I removed the passenger head and head gasket and disassembled the head gasket to attempt to find the failure.
With the single layer gaskets I have always been able to find the failure point. With the multilayer however, I am not able to find the weak point. Is it possible that an entire layer fails causing compression drop of the entire bank? Kinda stumped on this one.
Please help!
My 2002 Z06 ran hot (240 degrees) in traffic a few days ago and about a mile away from my home started blowing white smoke and moisture. It is a built LS2 Twin Turbo 402 Stroker with an LS3 head gasket. Symptoms are now- it is running warmer than I am used to on a test drive a few days layer, and showed a 10% static compression drop on the entire passenger bank (Drivers bank was around 210/Passenger is in the low 190s). I removed the passenger head and head gasket and disassembled the head gasket to attempt to find the failure.
With the single layer gaskets I have always been able to find the failure point. With the multilayer however, I am not able to find the weak point. Is it possible that an entire layer fails causing compression drop of the entire bank? Kinda stumped on this one.
Please help!
Last edited by chevydriverz28; 05-29-2012 at 11:37 PM.
05-29-2012, 11:40 PM
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It happened less than a mile from my house. Any chance I caught it so early that it could be making it hard to find. Also, any other ideas for how fluid or compression loss could be occuring if it wasnt the gasket?
My big questions...
1. Does/can a blown multilayer gasket cause compression loss in all cylinders on that bank? I ask this because I notice the middle layers have groves in they're design that appear to let pressure pass in between the cylinders. (See pic)
2. Does a 10% drop in static compression sound like a blown gasket or some other problem? If not what else could it be? Keep in mind the 240 running temp and blowing white smoke)
3. Thank you very much in advance for your advise!
My big questions...
1. Does/can a blown multilayer gasket cause compression loss in all cylinders on that bank? I ask this because I notice the middle layers have groves in they're design that appear to let pressure pass in between the cylinders. (See pic)
2. Does a 10% drop in static compression sound like a blown gasket or some other problem? If not what else could it be? Keep in mind the 240 running temp and blowing white smoke)
3. Thank you very much in advance for your advise!
Last edited by chevydriverz28; 05-30-2012 at 12:24 AM.
05-30-2012, 09:07 PM
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It happened less than a mile from my house. Any chance I caught it so early that it could be making it hard to find. Also, any other ideas for how fluid or compression loss could be occuring if it wasnt the gasket?
My big questions...
1. Does/can a blown multilayer gasket cause compression loss in all cylinders on that bank? I ask this because I notice the middle layers have groves in they're design that appear to let pressure pass in between the cylinders. (See pic)
If the gasket has failed due to a variety of issues, it could be in only one cylinder, two adjoining cylinders, or even all of them. The gasket is not designed to let pressure distribute, it has accordion like stampings that have spring back to them to compensate for slight lifting of the head.
2. Does a 10% drop in static compression sound like a blown gasket or some other problem? If not what else could it be? Keep in mind the 240 running temp and blowing white smoke) It would have to be pretty bad for and MLS gasket blow to show up on a static compression test.
3. Thank you very much in advance for your advise!
My big questions...
1. Does/can a blown multilayer gasket cause compression loss in all cylinders on that bank? I ask this because I notice the middle layers have groves in they're design that appear to let pressure pass in between the cylinders. (See pic)
If the gasket has failed due to a variety of issues, it could be in only one cylinder, two adjoining cylinders, or even all of them. The gasket is not designed to let pressure distribute, it has accordion like stampings that have spring back to them to compensate for slight lifting of the head.
2. Does a 10% drop in static compression sound like a blown gasket or some other problem? If not what else could it be? Keep in mind the 240 running temp and blowing white smoke) It would have to be pretty bad for and MLS gasket blow to show up on a static compression test.
3. Thank you very much in advance for your advise!
Rotate the motor over and inspect all the bores very carefully for discolorations or cracks in the bores. Some higher definition and very in focus pictures of the deck, heads, and gasket surfaces would help.
Stock type head bolts? ARP?
05-31-2012, 07:46 PM
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kind of hard to get a handle on this without really looking at the gaskets but first of 240 dosn't sound bad unless moving down the road and won't come down. head gasket failure causes overheating first by creating a air pocket at the thermostat causing it to be erratic and then loosing enough coolant. at this point i would first look for the cylinder with the steam cleaned piston. with visable smoke the piston(s) should be noticably clean then inspect from there for cracks etc. and darkened area of gasket.
