i recently assembled my my motor using a ls block sleeved and assembled by benson, 84mm bore. also using stock ls head. after final assembly and start up i noticed the water level going down. coolant was leaking into oil. i changed the head gasket and had a machine shop check the head for any cracks and resurfaced it. after putting the head back on i'm seeing the same problem. i used a b20 head gasket with copper spray and arps torqued to 70flbs. any help or ideas of what might be causing this problem?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WEST SIDE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">a machine shop check the head for any cracks and resurfaced it. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Did you have the block surface checked too?

 

You pulled the head off before performing a leakdown of each cylinder? Do you know what cylinder was actually leaking if any? Did you just start the car........see coolant level going down(which is normal) and pull the head off? How did you know coolant was going into the oil,milky white under valve cover? From your info thats what I get from it.

 

after assembly i drove the car around for about 500 miles before i noticed water in the oil. i would fill up my catch can to the top and eventually it would go down. and yes the oil is milky. i did do a compression test and checked the block deck and both checked out fine.

 

A compression test wont exactly tell where or if you have a head to cylinder problem. Do a leak down for each cylinder using a leak down tester. Run car till normal "hot" temperatures. Open radiator cap(carefully,it will be hot and has alot of pressure).Top off the coolant at the cap,turn each cylinder to TDC (1342)and check if the coolant flows over or rises. If it flows over at a certain cylinder at TDC you have pinpointed your problem and cylinder. This is a definite sign of block to head damage. If all checks out OK then look into other places it could be mixing at. If still unsure on how to do this PM for more details. Good luck.

 

thanks for the info. im gonna do that first thing in the morning. im starting to think its not a head gasket problem.