New head gasket fault

[BButturff]

Originally Posted by BButturff

From my experience successful head gasket life can be attributed to 4 things:


1. Having block and head surfaces that are machined flat with no more that a 0.002 gap.
2. Using a premium head gasket. I too like the Best 509G (graphite) with copper gasket sealer. They can be a real bugger to remove later, that's how good they seal.
3. Using new head studs and nuts. I like ARP brand head studs and have used them in small block Ford drag racing engines for a very long time. If you get head studs from a vendor you probably won't know who made them or how much stretch they will have.
4. Following a torquing and re-torquing regimen. My initial torque steps using the widely published Model A torque pattern are 25lb-ft, 35lb-ft, 45lb-ft and lastly 55lb-ft. Then, after the next four engine warming cycles I check them all again. And finally, I check them all again every time I change engine oil. At the same time I check all manifold stud nuts.

One other thing I do while checking head nut torque during oil changes is to remove the distributor. Why not just use one of those new fandangled bendy wrenches to allow access to the head nuts close to the distributor? They're fine, they work perfectly well. But I remove the distributor so I can wipe a small amount of grease on the contact areas with the block to prevent the distributor from seizing in the block. Some day, you or someone like you, will be very happy you did!