head still leaking

so after my recent problems (blown upper rad hose, blown head gasket, replacing head gasket and head decked)
I have had everything back together for a few days, but it just isn't running very well.
Misfire codes, stumbling at start up, rough idle.
I ran some Seafoam thru it today to clean crap out (normally do this once a year anyway) and when it hit the engine I notice a big plume of smoke from the intake/exhuast manifold where it meets the head... so I guess I have a gap there... apparently not seated properly??

Then as I am looking around in that area I notice the exact same place I had a leak which led me to think I had blown the head gasket... has the same leak again. I have attached pics of the leaking area.

this pic is from back abit, to show where it is under the hood.


this pic is to show a little closer, the leak itself.


So nothing really has changed in almost 2 weeks, other than spending money for little reason, and learning that I can do a head job, but apparently not torque/seat parts properly.

I am getting ready to head home for the holidays, will be doing a lot of driving, and need this in tip top shape. If it comes down to it, I'll bring it to a shop and have them fix it... but I would rather do it myself.

As always... any help?

May not be very usefull. But I seam to recall a recent thread about that front manifold stud going into water jacket & needed to be sealed or leakage can occur. I may be wrong, but sure someone will correct me or chime in.

IIRC, there is a freeze plug there abouts.

ia green96 said:

May not be very usefull. But I seam to recall a recent thread about that front manifold stud going into water jacket & needed to be sealed or leakage can occur. I may be wrong, but sure someone will correct me or chime in.

Click to expand...

Yes the manual call for thread locker and that head bolt call for 110 ft.lbs and all others 100 test the compression or better yet a leak down test. that will tell you if your head gasket is properly sealed that is ofcoarse if your rings are sealing good. Thare is also a good test you can do with the coolant i dont remember the name but it takes a sample of the coolant and use a chem. it will turn the coolant colors if your head gasket it leaking. it tests for crankcase gases in the coolant.

old_man

well I do have a block heater which I believe is in place of the one freeze plug. but this leak is right where the head meets the block, which is a little ways from the freeze plugs.

mjdavis31

I had the FSM and followed torque specs to the T. The head bolt closest to that spot is #11 which is at 100lbs, all others are at 110lbs. #11 is coated with a sealant... I may have to try again and add more, an easy quick fix which may help.

I think there is more than one problem going on here. With a coolant leak still looming, exhuast gases coming from manifold area, and the engine running like crap... I feel I am ready to say uncle and brought it to a shop where someone can plug in and get some better answers.

Keep the ideas coming, I will hold out until I get ahold of my shop and see what the mech has to say. Until than, back to tinkering and checking, rechecking, and checking once more.

You sure the intake is seated up and not causing a vacuum leak? If the header didn't seat correctly the intake most likel didn't either.

I will be having another go at it today.
Will check all sensors, plugs, wiring, etc. One thing I am trying to figure out is if there is a way of finding out which injector plug goes to which injector. 3-6 seem self explanatory, they go to the one they are right beside. However #1-2 are side by side, and I am wondering if I could have misplaced these two. Is there a way of finding out (other than labelling before I did this ofcourse).
Also, even with my FSM I can't find the torque setting for the intake/exhuast manifold bolts. Obviously I am not looking in the right place, so if anyone has this info it would be handy before I get into things again.

Cancel torque specs, found it on Yuccaman's site.

ok, you pulled the engine and blocked the deck...did you have the head milled too? Maybe that's a stupid question, but ya gotta ask. Are you getting any coolant in the oil? Did you re-assemble the block and head while it was on the stand? I had a buddy that tried to re-assemble it all in the vehicle and he ended up damaging the head gasket while he was getting it on there. Just hitting the high spots. Good luck man.

You run the risk of failure if you try to retorque the head bolts. You are only supposed to reuse them once.
You might want to consider some new head bolts before you tear into the engine again.