Tony D Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 What we are seeing here is nothing. It's a seeping coolant issue, not a "blown" head gasket. 1/4 tube of Aluma Seal and some paint. Next... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowRob Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 This site sometimes turns molehills into mountains. Agreed it's minor weeping. You could re-torque if you wanted, but I doubt you'd see a difference. On SBCs running Al heads on Fe block, I've seen more issues pop up after somebody retorqued a pair well driven heads. Gasket material used plays a huge part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Suit yourself...I've used the aluma-seal trick and it works, but the same person who set me up with that fix also recommended the head-bolt retorquing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwarner Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 One point to remember is that the aluminum heads expand and contract with heat much more than the cast iron block. This requires the head gasket to accommodate the difference. At the same time, the metal surfaces have a roughness to ensure a good grasp on the gasket. Also our aluminum heads are subject to corrosion/erosion due to dissimilar metals. When I changed my head gasket this week, I did a careful inspection to look for breaches due to corrosion. Trapping coolant in the head gasket area with Alumi-Seal may accelerate the corrosion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Take care when "retorquing" old head bolts as you could end up snapping one off since you don't know the condition of them. I would start with a setting on the wrench of a little less than what the factory recommends just to see if you get any movement and carefully feel while you are tightening. If you find one that is starting to turn more than the others or just doesn't feel right, you might want to remove that one and replace it before it snaps off. Overheating an engine can cause the aluminum cylinder head to expand and actually squeeze a gasket thinner........then at normal operating temps. afterward, the head is not fully torqued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 What we are seeing here is nothing. It's a seeping coolant issue, not a "blown" head gasket. 1/4 tube of Aluma Seal and some paint. Next... Quoted for truth. The end. Take care when "retorquing" old head bolts as you could end up snapping one off since you don't know the condition of them. I would start with a setting on the wrench of a little less than what the factory recommends just to see if you get any movement and carefully feel while you are tightening. If you find one that is starting to turn more than the others or just doesn't feel right, you might want to remove that one and replace it before it snaps off. Overheating an engine can cause the aluminum cylinder head to expand and actually squeeze a gasket thinner........then at normal operating temps. afterward, the head is not fully torqued. I'm betting the head got a tad hot at some point in it's life, and the following lack of head retorquing lead to the current condition. There's a good reason Nissan put the retorquing in the FSM... All good info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.