new head and gasket seeping already??

If I'm reading your post right, the thing is just doing a light "seep" and not a major "leak", right?

You will see this happening all the time, if you do a lot of engines. It is just not that big of a deal.

Start the goofy thing up and get it hot; this will melt the built-in sealer on the head gasket and your 'seep' will stop.

And don't worry about your not putting a sealer on the gasket. These "sealers" are nothing more than an aftermarket selling scheme. No manufacturer uses gasket sealers anyway.

You're making this problem bigger than it really is.

Allan

Most MODERN engines use non-retorque gaskets for the obvious reason. All non-retorque gaskets do NOT use sealer. Nor do they contain a built-in sealer. In fact, the exact opposite is true. In the "old" days heads were glued to the block with gasket cement on the theory that they should never move in relation to one another. This theory was wrong. Modern thinking is to use non-retorque gaskets which are especially made to be slippery... hence, Teflon, silicone, and graphite. This allows the head to move across the surface of the deck without tearing the gasket and therefore provides a perfect seal for the life of the engine.

Far from being a scam, sealers are mandatory where they are required, for example, many older tractors are being rebuilt with NOS or even OEM gaskets. Some new "retorque required" gaskets also demand sealer.

Further, the mating surfaces must be flat. If they leak, they are not flat. By overtorquing them all you are doing is warping the head (making it conform to the deck). Sure, it MIGHT seal temporarily, but as the engine goes through some number of thermal cycles, the uneven clamping forces cause the head to move. This tears the head gasket and almost always dumps coolant into the crankcase, destroying bearings in the process. Might take 5 minutes of engine operation to destroy it, might take 5 years. It's a matter of degree.

All of us who actually do this for a living use a "steel" (think giant straightedge) to verify both the deck and head for flat. The spec is always in the service manual. It's usually something like .001" per lineal foot of head. Gaskets will not seal gaps greater than this.

While reinstalling a head seems like a trivial process, it is far from it. I feel very sorry for the guys who post here with the old "my engine blew a head gasket so I replaced the head gasket and now the gasket blew again". Of course, without a proper head and deck surface, it is a near 100% certainty that the gasket will blow again.

There's an old saying... "any job worth doing is worth doing right". People who refuse to follow this sage advice almost always end up doing it over... and over... and over.

Re-read his post. It is not "leaking" it is 'seeping' out of the head gasket area. Big difference.

If you've rebuilt a lot of engines, then you know that this is normal as rain on about 1 out of every 20 or 25 builds.

10 minutes at a fast idle and his seep problem is over.

Now, I'll agree with you if it is actually "leaking" coolant (I mean actually running out and puddling up).....in this case, there is something wrong and it needs to come back down.

Allan

I explained the reasons... I can only explain, I cannot make you understand.

Methinks you're not too familiar with old iron, if you've never seen a head gasket seep after an overhaul.

.... Bob, who is now donning his asbestos shorts.

Your experience matches mine EXACTLY. I have done numerous engines, with professional machine work, assembly and torque BY THE BOOK, and have had such little head gasket seeps from time to time.

The old laminated steel head gaskets just simply do not always seal completely without a warmup and retorque, and a little water seepage at first at first is not normally a harbinger of disaster.

Like you, I would imagine, I grew up on a farm fitted with wrenches in my hands; repaired my first third-member when I was 10 and my first automatic before I was 12 years old.

Later, I did the whole schmeal, trade school and the complete dealership/repair route.

But, I can honestly say, the best advice I ever got was from those older felleas who had spent their lifetime working on iron; they knew all the shortcuts and they how to make a living doing it.

They taught me to know the theory of operation and to "think the problem thru" before opening any machine up. In other words, to know what is wrong with the thing before you ever touch it with a wrench.

Reading the step-by-step directions out of the manual is fine I guess, but there comes a time when you have to stop & use your head a little too.

Thanks for the comeback,

Allan

We told you what you needed to do. If you are not willing to do so, at least take the suggestion to get a local mechanic/machinist to help you. It all has to come apart and everything checked... you have to start at the beginning. You can assume nothing. Just as an example, if the block deck and/or head surfaces are not flat, no amount of gasket sealer nor overtorquing the head bolts will correct the problem. Nor can you assume the gasket does not need sealer because it didn't call for any. You must contact the manufacturer of the gasket and ask. They assume that people who install them know what they are doing. For example, we know that all non-retorque gaskets which are always coated with Teflon, silicone, or graphite, must never have any sealant applied or the gasket is ruined. Conversely, non-embossed metallic gaskets USUALLY require sealant... a nice even coat of Copper-Kote on each side of the gasket (but never sprayed on the deck or head) is appropriate. Composition gaskets (made like a sandwich) are always embossed and MAY require sealer... the manufacturer is the final authority.

Hint: when I pull an engine apart, I always look for either sealer on the head bolts or rust on the shank/threads. If any is found, they obviously go through the water jacket. An after-the-fact way to determine this is to carefully blow shop air into each head bolt hole. Use a rubber cone adapter and keep your face out of the way. Air will escape when a hole penetrates the water jacket.

And, I stand by my original advice to start it, and warm it up, and retorque the head. (Several "cycles" of this, if necessary.) It would be a good idea to loosen the oil drain plug, and see if any water has gotten in the oil, and remove the spark plugs and crank it over with the starter to be SURE there"s no water in the cylinders before trying to start it. (I"ll bet you won"t find any water in the cylinders or the oil, but if you do, I would recommend removing the head, and installing a new gasket, after spraying several coats of Copper Coat, or aluminum spray paint on each side of the new gasket, allowing drying time between coats.)

If the bolts "give" much at all, as the gasket crushes a bit, your valve clearances will tighten up. Be sure to recheck them before starting the engine again.

Good luck!

Some head bolts penetrate the water jacket and require sealer on the length of the threads. The service manual should be your guide.

Another possibility is that the head was not machined flat, the wrong gasket was used, or the gasket was installed incorrectly (upside down), sealer was used on the gasket when it should not have been, etc. Verify with the gasket manufacturer.