Prooper way to install Head Gasket

[RobertK]

I've got to help my brother put his cylinder head on later this week and I just wanted to know if there is a special way to apply the copper gasket spray or which surfaced to properly apply it to.

EDIT: LOL at title.. too much coffee this morning.

[HST]

I would think that you could spray both sides of the gasket then place the gasket on the block, install head. I would think that you would not want to spray the stuff straight onto the block or head for the risk on getting it on a piston or valve ect......

Ely would know.

[AndrewBird]

Follow the directions on the spray can?

[winstontj]

hey.... whatever you do make sure that EVERY LAST DROP OF OIL IS OUT OF THE HEAD BOLT HOLES!!!

It can cause Hydrolock and you'll be effed if you put head bolts in holes filled with oil. Clean them out, shove Qtips or paper towels down there... whatever you have to to make sure that the head bolt holes are clean and most importantly DRY...

As for the gasket... dunno. Never used copper gasket spray.

[RobertK]

Thanks for the tip.. I'll be sure to do that this evening.

[StereoInstaller1]

ARP's website says that lubricating the headbolts makes torque more accurate, and that headbolts should be tightened and loosened 5 times before final torque.

Just stuff I thought you might wanna know.

Luke

[RobertK]

ARP's website says that lubricating the headbolts makes torque more accurate, and that headbolts should be tightened and loosened 5 times before final torque.

Just stuff I thought you might wanna know.

Luke

Would this also apply to the Metric Blues?

[StereoInstaller1]

Would this also apply to the Metric Blues?

I would assume it applies to all bolts in general.

But you and I both know the power of "assume", right?

Luke

[87-325ic]

first make sure you clean up your pistons and chambers very well, and all gasket surfaces are perfect.

i assume spraying both sides of the gasket makes the most sense..
why are you using that spray, what is it?

what headbolts are you using?

stock ones are Torque To Yield, meaning they are tightened in a certain sequence, then they are finally tightened to their maximum torque, And cannot be reused after loosening.
the above posted comment about tighten/loosen 5 times probably refers to Metric Blues..

As for the bolts holes, go to walmart and get the computer cleaning compressed air,

stick the little red hose on and put it in the bottom of the hole, cover with paper towels and look out when you squeeze the trigger.

[RobertK]

first make sure you clean up your pistons and chambers very well, and all gasket surfaces are perfect.

i assume spraying both sides of the gasket makes the most sense..
why are you using that spray, what is it?

what headbolts are you using?

stock ones are Torque To Yield, meaning they are tightened in a certain sequence, then they are finally tightened to their maximum torque, And cannot be reused after loosening.
the above posted comment about tighten/loosen 5 times probably refers to Metric Blues..

As for the bolts holes, go to walmart and get the computer cleaning compressed air,

stick the little red hose on and put it in the bottom of the hole, cover with paper towels and look out when you squeeze the trigger.

I got a set of metric blues but from what I've read the proper procedure for them is to tighten 30lbs (wait 5-10min,), then 60lbs (wait 5-10 mins), and then finally to stock torque.

As far as the head it's at the ship getting ported, polished and planed as well as a 5 angle valve grind.

The block surface we didn't get planed but we did clean it up with a DA with a special media that cleaned up the surface and gave it kind of a mini-crosshatched look. Also, we cleaned the piston head with a yellow 3M roloc bristle disc.

[joshh]

Looks really good but I had to giggle at the fact you shot the engine dolley.

[ivo316]

OK, here's what I did to get the oil out of the bolt holes, I screwed the bolts by hand into the holes, all the oil came out as i inserted the bolts, sometimes I had to wiggle the bolts a bit to make the oil come out, used a whole box of paper towels to prevent the oil from falling all over the place, after that I inserted a thin foam bar to absorb the last drops of oil, just my 2c