jacob80 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Hey guys, Well I have just installed a new head gasket from Nissan and wouldn't you know it, the damn thing is leaking on me. I had this problem before, but on a different spot, which is why I renewed the head gasket in the first place. The leak isn't awful (as far as I can tell), but I believe it happens only when it is running. The leak is in the area of the passenger side, cylinder #1 right below the spark plug hole. I noticed this becaue there is oil running down the side of the block and onto the crossmember. This leak was not present prior to the new head gasket. My deepest fear is that I'll have to pull the damn head off again after only 60 or so miles of driving the car. I am considering different options. They are: A) Should I simply wait it out and see if the leak dissipates after driving more? Perhaps the sealing effect hasn't taken place between the cylinder head and block for the head gasket to conform to the surfaces. B)Should I pull off the valve cover and re-torque the head bolts? I know I did everything right this time, for the very reason of not having to do this! C) Pull the head off and install head studs to ensure my head bolts are causing the issue and do EVERYTHING over again I'm kind of bummed about this, but if it comes down to it, I will pull the head. Perhaps you guys have a better solution to this problem. Thanks guys! Also: I will attach pictures tonight, so you guys can see what I am talking about. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 If it's just a swapped motor and you don't have too much money into it, I'd just check the oil frequently and see if it's using up a noticeable amount of oil. You should have had the head re-surfaced when you had it off of the motor. The coolant can eat away at the surface and cause pitting, which will lead to leaks unless you have the head surface decked. I couldn't find a proper picture of a pitted head after a quick search, but this is what you want it to look like: I would suggest buying some ARP head studs, and getting the head re-surfaced when it is convenient if you are not going through too much oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolling Parts Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Maybe the leak is not the head gasket? I've had oil there before and the leak was the valve cover. Oil would drip down the front of the engine and then stream back along the seam of the head gasket... If it's not the valve cover, I'd still do a compression and coolant pressure test before yanking teh head again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacob80 Posted March 1, 2010 Author Share Posted March 1, 2010 If it's just a swapped motor and you don't have too much money into it, I'd just check the oil frequently and see if it's using up a noticeable amount of oil. You should have had the head re-surfaced when you had it off of the motor. The coolant can eat away at the surface and cause pitting, which will lead to leaks unless you have the head surface decked. I couldn't find a proper picture of a pitted head after a quick search, but this is what you want it to look like: I would suggest buying some ARP head studs, and getting the head re-surfaced when it is convenient if you are not going through too much oil. I pulled the head because I also suspected a warped head surface, and I did take it to my machine shop and they indicated that it was not warped. I wanted to do it right, so I bought a genuine Nissan head gasket for this motor. I am not noticing any oil burning or smoke. There is nothing out of the ordinary, that I can tell, other than the visual evidence of oil on the block and crossmember. I will check to see if its the valve cover, that would be nice if it is. If not, I'm going to make sure that its not coming from the distributor hole, either. I read something on zcar.com that stated somebody ran their engine with a small leak like this for a good part of eight years with no problems, but its just disappointing because I made sure I did everything right so this exact thing would not happen. I hate my brand new engine having oil pissing down the side of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 (edited) I pulled the head because I also suspected a warped head surface, and I did take it to my machine shop and they indicated that it was not warped. So you took a head to a machine shop to make sure it was straight by getting it decked, and they told you it was fine and didn't need resurfacing? How are these people still in business if they aren't making any money?? its just disappointing because I made sure I did everything right so this exact thing would not happen. I hate my brand new engine having oil pissing down the side of it. If you were trying to do it right, you should've had them do it anyways. Get a picture for us before you clean it, then clean it and see if it comes from the head/block junction or the valve cover. Pulling the head isn't *that* big of a deal, unless it's your daily. Edited March 1, 2010 by flatblack280 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinzturbo Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 (edited) I had a similiar problem. I found it was the valve cover gasket, those cork ones are poo. I bet your oil is clean since you just rebuilt it,the clean oil is hard to see when its on clean aluminum so it makes it look like its coming from the headgasket. get one of those thin black felpro ones. Edited March 1, 2010 by justinzturbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 So you took a head to a machine shop to make sure it was straight by getting it decked, and they told you it was fine and didn't need resurfacing? How are these people still in business if they aren't making any money?? If you were trying to do it right, you should've had them do it anyways. Get a picture for us before you clean it, then clean it and see if it comes from the head/block junction or the valve cover. Pulling the head isn't *that* big of a deal, unless it's your daily. What are you talking about. You definately should NOT have a perfectly good head resufaced. Why take away material if it's not needed. A machine shop that would resurface a good head would be scam artists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Hey guys, Well I have just installed a new head gasket from Nissan and wouldn't you know it, the damn thing is leaking on me. I had this problem before, but on a different spot, which is why I renewed the head gasket in the first place. The leak isn't awful (as far as I can tell), but I believe it happens only when it is running. The leak is in the area of the passenger side, cylinder #1 right below the spark plug hole. I noticed this becaue there is oil running down the side of the block and onto the crossmember. This leak was not present prior to the new head gasket. My deepest fear is that I'll have to pull the damn head off again after only 60 or so miles of driving the car. I am considering different options. They are: A) Should I simply wait it out and see if the leak dissipates after driving more? Perhaps the sealing effect hasn't taken place between the cylinder head and block for the head gasket to conform to the surfaces. B)Should I pull off the valve cover and re-torque the head bolts? I know I did everything right this time, for the very reason of not having to do this! C) Pull the head off and install head studs to ensure my head bolts are causing the issue and do EVERYTHING over again I'm kind of bummed about this, but if it comes down to it, I will pull the head. Perhaps you guys have a better solution to this problem. Thanks guys! Also: I will attach pictures tonight, so you guys can see what I am talking about. Thanks!! Re-Torque the head bolts and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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