<U>Motor</U>
Straight 98 LS, Sleeved by GE
Stock head used, took .005" off bottom, new valvetrain, port-polish
ARP Head Studs to 80 ft/lbs
OEM Head Gasket with copper spray

This is actually the second start on this engine, first was with a VTEC head gasket by mistake. It leaked coolant from the head, and mixed coolant into the oil. I since then replaced the head gasket with the proper LS head gasket and had the same exact thing happen today. Coolant leakes from the left side of the head, and when I drain the oil it is chocolate milk.

Here is a pict of the LS gasket going on...



And here is where the coolant is leaking


And chocolate milk anyone?



Now the obvious comes to mind, cracked block or head? This is the second head gasket and the vtec one should have sealed anyway. My builder is planning to do a pressure test on the coolant system. Any comments/thoeries?

 

The head could be warped or the sleeves may of not been installed right are they flush with the top of the block.

 

how are you putting the head gasket on? Are you letting the copper spray dry completely and then installing the head or is it tacky or still wet?

 

the spray was still tacky when we torqued it down. That oil / coolant mix was from only 15 minutes of run time

 

i know you dont want to hear it but it may have to come back apart, the head could be slightly off, or one of those sleeves could be up or down a hair, and yes it will leak. obviously. even tho its a gaskets job to help seal.

you sure you dont have the gasket on upside down, i know i accidentally did it to my own motor years ago, in a hurry

 

his head gasket is right, i can see where it says "UP" in the pic. sleeve could be a little high??

 

fyi thats the right side of the motor.

hold the HG to the head and make sure it all lines up as well.

for some reason im thinking the head wasnt milled true... gut feeling,hope its something cheap

 

your headstuds are overtorqued. This mechanic blew up my motor torquing arp headstuds to 80 pounds. I had 1 crack cylinder due to coolant mixing in the combustion chamber. We torque it down to 70 pounds on arp headstuds and no more leaks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eklsv-t &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your headstuds are overtorqued. This mechanic blew up my motor torquing arp headstuds to 80 pounds. I had 1 crack cylinder due to coolant mixing in the combustion chamber. We torque it down to 70 pounds on arp headstuds and no more leaks</TD></TR></TABLE>


really, so you are saying that ARP is giving out wrong instructions when they are sending out their product?

 

i gess he mean 80 poung with their lubrifiant
its supose to be 80 with 10w30 oil
and 70 with arp lubrifiant

 

Must be different for mine.

 

GE recommends 80 ft/lbs with o-ring wire and 15 PSI of boost. I could see myself there in a few years so we torqued it to that spec. What will the pressure test on the coolant system tell me? How can I tell if it is the block or the head?

 

http://www.goldeneaglemfg.com/...k.pdf

 

Ok, last night I pressure tested the coolant system and found out the heater fitting on the block was leaking down onto the head gasket. So I think I solved the External leak. Now, how about that internal leak? Does this really look like anti-freeze and oil mixed?(see pict above) I am beginning to think it could be a mixture of new oil/moly used on head studs/and assembly lube(which we used a lot of). Anybody buying this theory. Also, I mixed some oil and coolant in a cup and it was white and milky, my oil looks like pond water.

 

My motor leaks oil in that same spot. I dont know what it is about that spot. Ive rebuilt the motor since - had the head and block surfaced, replaced HG, reduced the height of the dowel pins (in case they were bottoming out) and replaced and properly torqued the ARP head studs and it STILL leaks a little.

 

becuase you didnt change your distributor O ring^^.. i get this almost twice a week at the shop.

 

well it's anti-freeze and I think I have that that problem fixed, but do you think my mixture is something else?

 

imo that is a lot of mixing for only 15 min. of runtime. Your milk looks like the coolant was mixing with oil through a side passage rather than by entering combustion chamber (cylinder 3 looks a bit iffy). I torqued my head to to 75ft/lbs in 3 or 4 steps using arp lube. They have also been reused about 5 times. I'm also thinking you have a head issue. Get a real straight edge (not a cheapo ruler) and just check the block and head. Pressure testing the coolant system can also help check for cracks in the head and block...but I'm hoping this going to be a cheap fix for you. good luck

 

that's definitely water in the oil

 

one of my friends had this happen one time real bad on his brand new motor . This probably isn't the case with you, but he was plumbing one of his coolant lines into the pcv box

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jewjew bean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that's definitely water in the oil</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats what i tought...at first, but look at these picts.

Here is the bottom of the engine with the pan off...Everything up in there was good oil, and I would expect some white residue or any residue if there was a mixture.


And here i mixed some radiator fluid with oil to see what happens(LEFT) and the other cup(RIGHT) is my oil after running for 15 min. The radiator fluid and oil leaves a white film on everythihng it touches...I dont see that in my motor anywhere.

 

Also, my mixture does not separate even after days, I would expect at least a little separation of the anti-freeze and oil, or am I wrong in assuming this?

 

could it be arp moly lube?

 

I can't see your pics since I am at work but are you letting the oil get up to temp? I would change it and let it fully warm up and see how it looks. Alot of times on the first start up, the condensation won't be burned off and it will look white in your valve cover... after changing the oil and letting it fully heat up it is normally gone.

Like I said, I can't see your pictures but thats just another idea for you since I have seen it in the past.

 

yeah you have a point, I may just be over reacting like I usually do. One reason I really feel I dont have a mixture is the fact that I have NO residue on the motor at all. I can't help but think that an antifreeze / oil mix would leave some residue somewhere.