matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

I don't know what could have happened. Here's what I know. Fresh lt1 rebuild, all machine work and magnaflux done on the block by respectable shop. All new bearings rods and pistons, water pump oil pump, timing chain. No metal flakes in the oil, it had pressure almost instantly. The heads are 374 ported castings, they were not milled but they were checked for flatness and given the ok.
I had a problem torquing the heads, I used factory bolts but the manual was a little unclear in the actual passes. Anyway the heads should have had sufficient torque, I fired it up for the first time and ran it for about 20 seconds and shut it off, checked the stick and I saw white streaks. I drained the pan and it was all milky white.
How could water invade the crank case that quickly. The car did sit outside while I finished bolting the pulleys and other little things on. The motor was assembled inside my house. Could that be enough time for a serious amount of moisture the build up.
Please just throw something out there, the machine shop is also stumped. Is it possible for a lifted head to dump that much water in less than 30'seconds

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

this may sound like a dumb question but are you sure that it is water???

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

Well I think it's water. I assembled the motor with Lucas assembly lube and motor honey. I also put Lucas beak in additive. But none of those things are even remotely white and the oil came out a few different colors. The last little bit had some brown streaks but mostly milky white.
When I torqued the heads I did my first pass at 20 pounds and then did the 80 and 67 degree pass but the center bolt felt almost loose so I had to check them. I put a torque wrench on them at 65 foot pounds and the bolts closest to the center turned almost a quarter turn. The bolts to the outside of the head were much tighter.
So on the second head I made several passes at 20 foot pounds and made sure all the bolts were at 20'before I started the angle torque pass. So which did I do right and which was wrong?

draggin97s10

iTrader: (2)

you should of done 20 40 65 on the heads all in sequence. i have a feeling you warped a head from improper torquing

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

Could a warped head really dump that much water in a couple seconds. It seems like it shouldn't even turn over if the leak was that bad

noice

Well you said the heads were ported? Did they hit water? A compression check with no water in your engine might be able to tell you if any of the cylinder have a hole in them. Also if you end up taking the heads off, get them pressure tested, or rig up a fixture yourself. There could be cracks, valve seats might be too deep (into the water), porting might have hit water.

Was your block clearanced? Did they hit water? Did the block have a crack?

If it isn't that then it is the head gasket.

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

The block was not clearanced and it was magnafluxed so I think I can rule that out. I waited until about 20 mins before I tried to start it to put the coolant in the block so it's not like it seeped in slowly

ORedRoc4

iTrader: (15)

Did you use sealant on the head bolts? Or did you use the Fel-Pro pre-sealed headbolts? I used those damn pre sealed Fel-pro heabolts and ended up rolling a the bearing so bad it chewed the block up...

Hence LS1 swap in Camaro

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

Do an oil/filter change and try it again. Forget any of those additives, just use good old dino oil. RUN it for more than 20 seconds. Note what appears at the tail pipes. Listen for noise.

I hope all is well.

Additives usually make the oil aerate, or foam up. You do not want this.

jaycenk

iTrader: (1)

I would top off the cooling system and put the cooling system under pressure and start searching for where it is leaking in the engine. I f you got that much in 30second 5 psi on the cooling system should have it filling the oil pan in minutes.

lt1-xjs

Head bolts.

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

Factory felpros. Im going to switch to arp torque style. Im more interested in the torque sequence. If I know I made a mistake somewhere I can pin point the problem

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Do a leakdown. That will tell you exactly what you need to know.

FASTFATBOY

iTrader: (23)

Gen1 head gasket on a GenII engine.

old93camaro

iTrader: (8)

That's a good question what head gasket are you using and how thick is it...

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

Gasket is a cometic mls .040. It's the correct gasket

BlackBird87

iTrader: (6)

What did you clean the oil pan with, We use challenger once and rinsed it a few times but the oil looked milkly and it was from the challenger

Speedy

The MLS gaskets are great, but to use them you should mill the heads smooth. The Felpro is a more forgiving gasket when it comes to heads that have not been milled. It sounds to me like you just didn't torque the heads properly. I suggest you take them off, clean things up and check for damage, then replace the gaskets and try again. Make sure you clean out the bolt hole threads. I prefer torquing to the angle wrench method, it's tried and true and I have never had a problem with it.

old93camaro

iTrader: (8)

Im running that same gasket.. if it is not sealing you need to run that motor so the heads can heat up to seal them real nice... and if you bent them in any way you are going to have a problem and i hope you did not cut the tab that holds them together if so buy somemore

matt_paco2010

iTrader: (3)

Any suggestions on how to best flush the oil pan and stuff. I really don't want to damage my new bearings. I didn't clean the oil pan it was hot tanked at the shop that did the block so it was totally dry when I got it