[TR] Spitfire head gasket

ptegler ptegler at verizon.net
Mon Apr 3 05:11:04 MDT 2017


upon installing the head after the first rebuild, did you re-torque the 
head after the intial warmup up/cool down heat cycle?

did you use new head studs? what spec did you torque to?  proper order 
of studs?

Paul Tegler ptegler at verizon.net www.teglerizer.com
On 4/2/2017 10:25 PM, Chris Simo wrote:
> Any chance the block is not flat?
>
> On Apr 2, 2017 7:55 PM, "Roger Elliott" <elliottr at rmi.net 
> <mailto:elliottr at rmi.net>> wrote:
>
>     Hi All,
>
>     I have a 1980 Spitfire, the head has been rebuilt twice in the
>     last 2,500 miles.  (Shop claims something happened between first
>     and second rebuild, so not their fault)
>
>     Anyway, I have taken it for a few drives ~60  miles at a time and
>     all seemed good, so we were going to take it on a bit longer drive.
>
>     35 miles from home, the temp gauge is pegged, I put in lots of
>     water - maybe not quite a half gallon.  Started up to try to drive
>     back home, there was lots of white smoke from the exhaust.  I
>     don't think it was smoking much if at all before it overheated as
>     I was kind of keeping an eye on the car behind us and did not see
>     smoke.
>
>     I got 3 miles and decided to call a tow truck.  It was low on
>     water again - at least a quart in those 3 miles.
>
>     I used a leak down tester - though didn't really do a real leak
>     down test - to see if the cylinders were holding air. All seemed
>     fine except 4 which was not holding air and I could hear the air
>     coming through the radiator water was bubbling.
>
>     So, I took the head off expecting the head gasket to be blown or
>     something obvious with the head.
>
>     Head gasket was fine.  My checks of the head with feeler gauge and
>     straight edge indicated it is flat.  I don't see anything wrong
>     with the head.
>
>     Do I need to have it checked for cracks?  Or what else could be wrong?
>
>     Or could it be that the overheating loosened the head enough that
>     water got past the gasket?
>
>     Thanks,
>
>     Roger Elliott
>
>
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