naviathan Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Well, I hoped that the stop leak would last a little while. It would appear that after two weeks my head gasket has started leaking again and this time worse than ever. I took it on a trip to Myrtle Beach to visit family. It's about a 300 mile round trip. The car was overheating in traffic and when I got it home I pulled the dip stick to find the oil congealing into a nasty grease. I opened the oil cap and it's the same way on the valve train. I was able wipe a glob of "oil" off the nearest lobe. Looks like it's time to pull the head and get to work. I have a header I wanted to put on the car anyway and I also wanted to go through all my injectors and find some good ones to use for an MS-II install. Looks like it's time. At least it's summer time and I can ride the Harley to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 Alright new pics. Heads gone, notice the white/tan color to cylinders 2-5? It's dry and kind of flaky, I think that would be coolant burning off, any ideas? Timing chain tool...Not really, it's a foam sanding block that seems to work great for keeping the timing chain up and some tension on the to keep the tensioner from popping out. I hunted around my garage for 15 minutes before deciding on this route. I had more pics of the ehad, but it seems either my computer for my phone are hating me right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 For those that have lost their MSA Stage 2 cam card as I did, everything on it is pretty much stock. It recommends setting cold intake at .008" and exhaust .010". I had to call MSA and get those setting for when I reinstall everything. Though it might be pertinent information for anyone else that has the same cam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 So have you figured out how/where your headgasket was leaking? I don't see anything obvious from the pictures, but perhaps in person you can see something. If not, then you might want to get the head pressure tested before you reinstall it. I had an N42 develop a pin hole leak near one of the valve springs due to a casting defect. I'm told this is quite rare in L6s. I had the usual water in the oil symptoms of a blown head gasket, but couldn't see anything wrong with the head off. I would never have found the pin hole just looking for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 13, 2007 Author Share Posted July 13, 2007 I'm using a different head that's already at the machine shop, but I think this one might be warped. I couldn't find any obvious marks around the cylinders to indicate a leak, but from the looks of the exhaust valves and the tops of the cylinders I'd say there was definitely coolant leaking in. The liners in the exhaust ports are also white as though it was running lean, but I know it wasn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 Yikes, a sanding block! Did anyone else cringe at that. Dude, that's basically putting sandpaper in your crankcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbesheer Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 I don't know if I would call it sand paper more like 3M rough rubber on a sponge and it doesn't fall off the pad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 14, 2007 Author Share Posted July 14, 2007 cygnus, it's good, there's nothing coming off that sponge. I use these blocks for all kinds of projects and the only time I've had one come apart was trying to sand rust spots down and I caught it on a sharp edge. Thanks for the concern though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 15, 2007 Author Share Posted July 15, 2007 In taking another look at my head and my block it looks like the head gasket let loose on the number 1 cylinder in an oil jacket. The piston is nasty with oil. Might be what was pushing oil into the coolant. Surprised I didn't see and smoke. Might be time to punch out the cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 To me it looks like #1 is normal and the rest of the pistons have been steam cleaned by coolant in the chamber. I'm used to seeing nasty crusty black pistons in L series with lots of miles on them, don't see to many clean ones though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 15, 2007 Author Share Posted July 15, 2007 To me it looks like #1 is normal and the rest of the pistons have been steam cleaned by coolant in the chamber. I'm used to seeing nasty crusty black pistons in L series with lots of miles on them, don't see to many clean ones though. Yeah that's what I thought until I stuck my finger in it and it's nasty gooey almost grease like oil on top of that cylinder. The wife wiped it off with a shop rag and I was surprised to find a nice clean piston under all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naviathan Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 If things can go wrong they will. Tried getting the cam sprocket back on and the timing chain wouldn't pull up enough. Pulled the oil pump to have a look see at it and the tensioner came out. So on with pulling the front cover. What a pain without being able to move the engine for fear of impacting a valve. Got the cover off and it had bent the spring in the tensioner. Thankfully with all the spare engines around I had several to choose from. So that fiasco set me back almost a full day. I finally have my head on with the new cam and everything is coming together. Next is just the manifolds and wiring up MS. Tomorrow will be another long day I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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