V1 Josh's City Goblin - 10 XFE Donor

[jirwin]

More random pictures

 

[ah.b.normal]

It means exhaust gases in the cooling system. Whether that is head gasket, cracked sleeve, etc is to be determined

Curious what exactly is the problem, please keep us in the loop.

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

The top of piston #2 (and somewhat on #3) look 'washed', like they have been getting steam cleaned. A minor coolant leak would likely suck fluid in during a downstroke - with less than max boost - and allow cylinder pressure into the cooling circuit on the compression stroke. This is just my observation from your photos. Could be a gasket or cylinder liner/block crack.

 

[jirwin]

I was thinking similarly. The little mark I pictured two could be the culprit

 

[jirwin]

And when I (recently) retorqued the head bolts, I distinctly remember the center two needed a quarter turn - right between 2 and 3.

 

[Robinjo]

That spot between 2-3 is most likely your issue. It looks like material missing in the coating.
Can you snap better pictures of that spot on the head gasket?

 

[Scott #321]

Any evidence of that location leaking looking at the cylinder head?

 

[jirwin]

That spot between 2-3 is most likely your issue. It looks like material missing in the coating.
Can you snap better pictures of that spot on the head gasket?

Gladly. Top side of 2-3 is the only visible "damage"

Top Side of 2-3

Under side of 2-3

 

[jirwin]

Any evidence of that location leaking looking at the cylinder head?

Tearing it off was enough for me tonight. I'll look at the head tomorrow with fresh eyes and report back

 

[jirwin]

Didnt get a chance to take a picture (don't have a god spot to set it at the moment) but I took a peak. It seems the "missing" viton from the gasket is on the head right there. Its like a mirror of the gasket

 

[jirwin]

Can't find nothin wrong so I think I'm just going to try a new head gasket

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Make certain the head and top of the block are perfectly flat - check from more angles than you think you need to. You can get a machinists ruler - 18 or 24 inches - off Amazon or from HF for pretty cheap. Use a flashlight behind the ruler to see if any light comes through any gap, would highly recommend doing this to be 100% sure.

 

[jirwin]

I might swing it by a machine shop to have them check. Haven't decided yet. It would suck if it was warped because both the head and block were decked

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Once this is done, check the head gasket for any flaws before assembly - especially the seal around each cylinder. Make certain to follow the GM head bolt torquing sequence explicitly, any deviation can cause the head to 'bow' and not get the proper force between the block and head at the cylinder bore 'siamese' sections (the narrow sections of the adjacent cylinders).

One old school trick to get the head gasket and head to line up correctly is to use a couple long bolts (with the same thread and at least an inch longer than the head bolts), cut the hex off the top of the longer bolts (chamfer the square edges of the cutoff), and cut/grind a slot in the remaining shaft so a screwdriver fits well. Hand thread them into the block at opposite corners, before any assembly, to have alignment studs. Drop the head gasket in place (should be perfectly aligned to the cylinder bores) and then the head - which should also be perfectly aligned too. Unscrew the alignment studs and install the head bolts.

 

[jirwin]

I have ARP studs so I think alignment and all that should be good. I followed the recommendations last time with 2 exceptions.

First I had to take the head back off once (or twice?) when I decided to redo the rings. Not sure if its a problem to torque the head down a couple times before use.

Second, I didn't recheck head bolt torque after break in.

Other than that I followed instructions to the T

 

[Desert Sasqwatch]

Hmm, most head gaskets I've used in the past are essentially torque once, replace if any disassembly. The coating on the head gasket 'flows' when pressure is applied with torque and deforms to take 'set' to the head and block. Not certain if this is the case with the head gasket type/brand your using, but this may have been a contributor to the minor leak you experienced.

 

[ah.b.normal]

Didnt get a chance to take a picture (don't have a god spot to set it at the moment) but I took a peak. It seems the "missing" viton from the gasket is on the head right there. Its like a mirror of the gasket.

Those pistons do look steam cleaned, the give away is clean around the edges/ carbon in the middle.
Water in the oil?
Find where the water is getting in! (Uggh, another Phenderson? I hope not.)

 

[jirwin]

Nope, no water in the oil. Not milky in the slightest or else I would have noticed sooner. I'm getting oil tested whenever the Blackstone Labs thing gets here. I assume I'll find trace amounts of glycol in there but nothing to worry about. Obviously I'll still change the oil though

 

[Cnixon160]

Well now I feel slightly more bad about abusing the hell out of my stock LAP internals on 13psi , I'm running the same engine as you with the exception of cams, springs, balance shafts and injectors, I regularly turn it to 8100 RPM and have never had the head off. . .

 

[jirwin]

Read over the GM Ecotec Build Book again and noticed that they say to torque the studs to 8ft lbs with blue Loctite. I used ARP lube, and my studs were already torqued twice, so I'm sure they were over 8ft lbs. I also noticed they say 85ft lb for the nuts, whereas I did 80ft lbs (per ZZP). Maybe those two things would make the difference