At 09:44 AM 1/24/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>OK, I got the truck back together last night, but I haven't started it yet.
>Any last-second preparations I should make before firing her up?? I'm really
>nervous about blowing another head gasket. I pulled the old ones off, cleaned
>off all the material, then I sanded them down using 150 grit sandpaper, then
>220 to get it smooth and clean. I used paint thinner to clean off any residue
>and reassembled using the permatex copper sealant someone on the list had
>recommended to me. I torqued down the heads to 50lbs first step, then 105lbs
>second step. Waited 24 hours, then retorqued them again to 105lbs. I put oil
>on the bolt heads, to get a more accurate reading. I used permatex HPF on the
>intake manifold-to-head gaskets, and black rtv on the cork gaskets.
>Everything else I installed dry. All you guys that have done this type of
>work before, do I sound like I did okay?? Any other things I should do after
>I fire it up?? Anything after I fire it up?? It's really cold outside and I
>spend a rediculous amount of time performing this job, and I want this to be
>the last time I ever do it.
>
>-Austin
>Vipertruck
I hope you used a sanding block and not your fingers/hands to sand the
heads.block. The mating surfaces are critical in gasket sealing, if you
rubbed finger channels into the material, you will have gasket sealing
problems. Nothing more than a simple wire brush should be used on gasket
surfaces as critical as the heads. We're talking tolerances in the
thousandths of an inch that will affect the sealing.
One more thing, don't re-torque the head bolts until after the engine has
been run up to operating temperature and allows to fully cool (in the
future). Don't re-torque the bolts again or you will risk over-stretching
the bolts and ruining their clamping power. Next time the heads are off,
replace the head bolts.
Other than that, looks pretty good. Just don't over do it with sealant on
the heads - makes it a real pain to get off next time. Same with the
intake gaskets, a little around the water ports and that's it.
Congrats
Mike
__________________________
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