oil leaking from new head gasket

[dman82]

I have recently changed my head gasket (not a vr gasket).
I have oil leaking down the exhaust side of the block from the return tube shown in the picture.
What can I do? Apart from stripping it all down again.

[dnguyen1963]

Did you torque the head bolts down correctly?

[Dirty325ix]

Maybe a cracked head....does it show any other signs of a bad head gasket oil in coolant vise versa?
It seems odd that you would have such a localized leak and it is especially weird that it could be such a big leak that it drips out, there should be a ton of pressure on that gasket.
Are you sure it's not coming from the valve cover

[dman82]

Head bolts were set with torque wrench, then 90 degrees + 90. I have cleaned it up a few times, driven it then jacked it up to see where it is coming from. fairly sure it isn't the valve cover.

Had oil in coolant before hg change but no oil in coolant since. Where would head be cracked to cause this?

Only other thing I can think of is in one place around there, cannot remember exactly where I tested using a scotch brite pad on a small area to clean block. But that is pretty bad luck if this is the result I wasn't even rubbing hard because I was skeptical of the idea

Either that or I have managed to scratch the head on the bit that sticks up on the bolt hole next to it during reasembly

[dnguyen1963]

Head needs to be re-surfaced before putting a new HG on.

[dman82]

Head looked good and I did not get it re-surface, it also was good against a straight edge. Can I put a little bit of jb weld or similar over the outside of the block where it is leaking? I really don't want to pull it apart again right now

[dnguyen1963]

How much oil is leaking?

[603Racing]

I had the same except I had actually surfaced the head... but I used a VR and it leaked between 3 and 4 on exhaust side. Drove it for 9 months like that, only had to add oil about once a month. I did not drive it hard for fear of completely blowing the gasket.

To get it fixed, had the head decked again and used a different brand head gasket. Maybe the gasket got damaged during install? Maybe the block has an issue there?

[ForcedFirebird]

Elring gaskets aren't much better than VR. If you didn't shave the head, that's what I would suspect. Straight edge is only a guide, not a definitive answer. When checking a head with a machinist straight edge, you need to put it at all different angles, wouldn't be surprised if the head has some fall out on that edge.

[dman82]

I used a goetze head gasket so would assume that is not the problem. Not sure why it is leaking. It leaks a teaspoon or two per day not the end of the world but I hate hate hate oil leaks. There is a small trace of oil around spark plug #5 but after cleaning driving then inspecting several times what appears to be coming out of that oil return tube from the head gasket simply does not match what is seeping out of the valve cover, so I'm sure it is coming out of the head gasket. Any reason not to put a little jb weld on the outside?

[dnguyen1963]

JB weld would form a hard bond between the head and block so I don't think you should put it there. It's not the end of the world if you do. You would just have to grind it out if you need to take the head off again. Maybe, some oil-resistant permetex?

[tinkerputzer]

Fix the valve cover leak first. You might find that was the culprit all along.

[barry]

I noticed you have no connectors that join the head with the block. They fit one on each side of the block in the stud holes so the oil by passes the gasket. They are about 1/2 inch tall and fit real tight in the stud hole.

GL

[Ether-D]

I noticed you have no connectors that join the head with the block. They fit one on each side of the block in the stud holes so the oil by passes the gasket. They are about 1/2 inch tall and fit real tight in the stud hole.

GL

I think they are called indexing pins, they are to make the head and block line up perfectly during assembly.

[abit]

had the same problem, leaked between 3 and 4th cylinders on exhaust side.

when removed valve cover, discovered that head bolt was loosen there, although they were tightened properly when assembled. (leak started ~8k km after engine rebuilt, after high speeding for a while few times). First time I just tightened bolt and checked all others, it leaked less, but leak was still there.
Later removed head, just cleaned both surfaces with fine sandpaper, head and block, new elring headgasket, new bolts and it was fine till I disassembled engine again.
So in my case it was something wrong with headbolts.