head gasket advice
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Joined: Mar 2013
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From: burnsville mn
head gasket advice
02 zo6 with a tony mamo 407 & afr 215 heads . i have a external head gasket leak on the passenger side head , in the center of the head . this just started the engine has never gotten over 200 degrees and has been running perfect ????
#1 i have arp head bolt studs - do those need to be replaced once i un torque them .
#2 the engine was assembled with oem head gaskets would you use the oem gaskets again or go with fel pro or another ?
#3 am i able to remove the cylinder head with the arp head bolt studs still installed while in the car , it looks like like it will with no real issues ?
#4 would you do the other side head gasket ?
#5 i have 1 7/8 arh long tubes does anyone know of a special header to head gasket i should use or is oem good ?
thanks .
#1 i have arp head bolt studs - do those need to be replaced once i un torque them .
#2 the engine was assembled with oem head gaskets would you use the oem gaskets again or go with fel pro or another ?
#3 am i able to remove the cylinder head with the arp head bolt studs still installed while in the car , it looks like like it will with no real issues ?
#4 would you do the other side head gasket ?
#5 i have 1 7/8 arh long tubes does anyone know of a special header to head gasket i should use or is oem good ?
thanks .
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
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From: At the beach in little Rhody
I am surprised the GM gaskets leaked. If you only pull the one head, then use the same gasekt. How was the block prep done? Were the heads as machined from AFR? With the studs, you can leave them in place but I pulled mine to ensure no coolant got down into the block and provide more room to prepare the blockf or the gasket (cleaning). As for the headers, if you installed a new GM gasket when you put the headers on just re-use the same gasket. Many have without issues.
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Joined: Dec 1999
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From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
02 zo6 with a tony mamo 407 & afr 215 heads . i have a external head gasket leak on the passenger side head , in the center of the head . this just started the engine has never gotten over 200 degrees and has been running perfect ????
#1 i have arp head bolt studs - do those need to be replaced once i un torque them .
ARP Studs are the best you can get and are REUSEABLE!
#2 the engine was assembled with oem head gaskets would you use the oem gaskets again or go with fel pro or another ?
OEM MLS Head gaskets are about as good as it gets. I doubt that its a head gasket issue. Look for warped head, Block irregurality or an installation mistake
#3 am i able to remove the cylinder head with the arp head bolt studs still installed while in the car , it looks like like it will with no real issues ?
YES!! You will have ZERO issues removing the heads. Unless theres something wrong with the head studs, DONT REMOVE THEM. Before you remove the head,,, CHECK the head bolt torque and make sure that they properly torqued the head bolt/nuts.
#4 would you do the other side head gasket ?
NO, unless you find an installation issue on the side you are working on now.
#5 i have 1 7/8 arh long tubes does anyone know of a special header to head gasket i should use or is oem good ?
OEM MLS manifold gaskets work very well!!
thanks .
#1 i have arp head bolt studs - do those need to be replaced once i un torque them .
ARP Studs are the best you can get and are REUSEABLE!
#2 the engine was assembled with oem head gaskets would you use the oem gaskets again or go with fel pro or another ?
OEM MLS Head gaskets are about as good as it gets. I doubt that its a head gasket issue. Look for warped head, Block irregurality or an installation mistake
#3 am i able to remove the cylinder head with the arp head bolt studs still installed while in the car , it looks like like it will with no real issues ?
YES!! You will have ZERO issues removing the heads. Unless theres something wrong with the head studs, DONT REMOVE THEM. Before you remove the head,,, CHECK the head bolt torque and make sure that they properly torqued the head bolt/nuts.
#4 would you do the other side head gasket ?
NO, unless you find an installation issue on the side you are working on now.
#5 i have 1 7/8 arh long tubes does anyone know of a special header to head gasket i should use or is oem good ?
OEM MLS manifold gaskets work very well!!
thanks .
Please let us know what you find.. Take pictures!!
Bill
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,060
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From: Pasco WA
I've use nothing but GM MLS gaskets on heads and exhaust about 3 times. On the heads, I give it a light coal of copper sealant spray, and it seems like cheap insurance given I have 10.9 compression, and 7.5LBs of boost.
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 63
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From: burnsville mn
thanks
thanks for the heads up guys , i talked to afr (tony mamo)which is who built the motor ,actually assembled it and they told me they used stock thickness cometic gaskets ? i talked to cometic and they advised me to re torque the head because thats all it might need 
, talked to arp and they gave the torque spec for my setup beacause i have head bolt studs . which 80 lbs btw, so we will see . should be able to post later this week with a update . the guy at cometic sounded confident ?
, talked to arp and they gave the torque spec for my setup beacause i have head bolt studs . which 80 lbs btw, so we will see . should be able to post later this week with a update . the guy at cometic sounded confident ?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
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From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
thanks for the heads up guys , i talked to afr (tony mamo)which is who built the motor ,actually assembled it and they told me they used stock thickness cometic gaskets ? i talked to cometic and they advised me to re torque the head because thats all it might need , talked to arp and they gave the torque spec for my setup beacause i have head bolt studs . which 80 lbs btw, so we will see . should be able to post later this week with a update . the guy at cometic sounded confident ?
, talked to arp and they gave the torque spec for my setup beacause i have head bolt studs . which 80 lbs btw, so we will see . should be able to post later this week with a update . the guy at cometic sounded confident ? Hope its as simple as that. They did you a favor when they used studs! IMHO,, the studs are FAR SUPERIOR to bolts. Bill
