wtf would cause this to happen???

[kouki_drifter]

ok so i took my 97 kouki with an s14 sr20det that i rebuilt to tune and for one the new t2871rs t04s housing .86 exhaust turbo was only boosting 16.5lbs of boost with my tru boost set to 80% so i made 393hp 364ftlbs of torque to the wheels. I drove the car about 15miles after the tune it was running beast, i tuned out of town so I loaded it up on the trailer and brought it the 100mi trip home I unloaded it let it warm up for about 10mins drove down the road, opened it up in first to the redline let off and stopped about 1/16 of a mile down the road at a buddies house. He wasnt home so I reversed out of the drive way, as i reversed there was a white cloud of smoke that came out of the exhaust and covered the whole car so i drove it forward and turned it off, tried to start it again and it stopped got stuck pulled it home pulled the head the next day and this is what i found

[kouki_drifter]

Apexi multilayer headgasket wtf
gave on #1 cylinder

[Hoffman5982]

You said it got stuck, as in the engine would not turn over? Were any of the cylinders filled with water? Mine did that, and 2 of the cylinders were filled, the engine tried to hydrolock. Luckily I was able to get it free with no damage to the rods or pistons.

Anyways, while I had a cometic gasket, and the ring around the cylinder didn't do what yours did, when my engine did this it was the only time I ever sprayed the hg with that copper spray. If the tops of the pistons and the cylinder walls check out, replace the hg without spraying it, run it for a little while and do a compression test. That will ensure that there is in fact no further damage.

[kouki_drifter]

yea it wouldnt turn over it "hydrolocked" im guessing but i pulled the plugs and tuned it over and it turned over fine, #1 was the only one with coolant in it and just a little. the walls look fine no scratches or scoring at all. i also sprayed that copper crap on it before i installed it, could that be the issue? what hg are you running now?

[rcdad123]

i don`t think cometic head gaskets have a fire ring around the bore holes, but i could be wrong. that fire ring coming off the side is probably caused by detonation or warped head surface. check the head and block surface for straightness and also check the stud holes on the block around that cylinder and make sure they are not stripped. good luck, i hope it`s something simple and not too expensive.

[kouki_drifter]

I just ordered a new cometic hg and they do have a fire ring also just a different design, as far as the head I had it decked and I haven't used the car much after that drove it probably about 400 mi. I also ordered a new set of arp head studs and bc valve springs since im in there the block seems to be straight. Maybe the tune caused a pd?

[Hoffman5982]

As of now I'm on an oem HG because I got a new motor. But after that I just ordered another Cometic and it was fine. For the price, Cometic is good. But when I inevitably go metal hg with this motor I'll be going Cosworth. Your situation sounds exactly like mine so hopefully you get off with just needing the head gasket.

As for the copper spray, I sprayed mine right before installing it as well. It wasn't til afterwards that I read that Cometic says not to use it because their gaskets have an extra rubber like coating to ensure a proper seal. I'm assuming your head and block were properly decked before going with a metal headgasket?

[kouki_drifter]

actually i ordered a new cosworth hg sorry, the head was decked properly and i checked the block for clearances and it was within spec. i also sprayed the copper onto the apexi, i manually cranked the motor and everything seemed fine. i have wiseco piston heads and eagle h beam rods so i think they are ok. i checked the cylinders and no scoring or anything im going to pull the motor to pull the oil pump and set mechanical timing correctly.

[Hoffman5982]

Well I wish you the best. Like I said, after that happened to me it was fine. The motor ended up blowing but for completely different reasons.

[kouki_drifter]

Thanks man! Yea it sucks but I'm gonna get back in there and get it done! That sucks that yours blew up man good luck with the next one. Thanks for your info, I'm not going to put any copper on this hg let's see what happens.

[jr_ss]

Personally, I've had both headgaskets. I ran the Cosworth for a few months, then I tossed a rocker arm. Great headgaskets and they seal awesome, however my only gripe with them is that they don't have the fire ring. If you're pushing big power you want that ring to help prevent possible damage to the block/head. Either way, do not use a Cometic HG unless both the head and block have been freshly decked.

OP make sure you flush your motor extremely well do get all the H2O out.

[kouki_drifter]

Yea I just ordered a cosworth it diesnt have the ring, and luckily it doesn't have much coolant in it, it only had about an 1/8in on the piston on cyl 1 but there was a shit load in the intake manifold I don't know why? And good thing there wasn't any in the oil. Is there any way to put the head back on without having to remove the oil pump and chain guides? I pulled it off with them all on, it was a little ruff because of the chain guides.

[Hoffman5982]

As long as you've had something pulling the chain up so it doesn't skip a tooth on the crank or anything, then it shouldn't be a problem. I found that it's easiest to put the head on and then the ARP studs, whereas the directions tell you to put the studs in first. You can do that but run a high risking of breaking the guide when you are flexing it to get it to go inside the head. Another pair of hands would also be a great idea to fish the chain through the head. I usually have a bungie cord going to the hood latch to hold the timing chain up any time I'm doing head work like that.

[kouki_drifter]

Shit I already let the chain flop down, so probly have to pull oil pan then.

[godsmack]

did you happen to have the front cover decked as well? the front cover on sr's are known for causing cylinder #1 blowouts once you start uping the boost. just something for you to look at if you didn't do it already.

[kouki_drifter]

It is brand new, it should be ok from the factory right?

[Hoffman5982]

Well if you had the block decked, that means the surface was taken down a little, so the front cover needs to be taken down to match. With that said, When I had my block decked I didn't think about the front cover, but I never had an issue from it.

[kouki_drifter]

Well I only had the head decked not the block so I should be ok right? It didn't need to be decked I checked the block and it was within spec

[godsmack]

no even from factory the front cover is barely higher and when you run metal headgasket it doesn't seat 100%. sometimes you can get away with it and sometimes you can't. but this only generally causes #1 cylinder to blow out.

[jr_ss]

Originally Posted by kouki_drifter

Well I only had the head decked not the block so I should be ok right? It didn't need to be decked I checked the block and it was within spec

Take a ruler, knife, something with a straight flat edge and slide it along your block towards your oil pump cover. If it catches a lip, you need to have it addressed.

[kouki_drifter]

Ok I'll check it, how would I check timing on an aem v2 to make sure it's not to advanced and causing pre det?

[kouki_drifter]

I think I'm going to deck the block, I'm also going to bolt up the oil pump so it gets decked even with the block good idea? Fuck it right? Do it right it don't do it at all!

[kouki_drifter]

ok guys I tore down the whole motor, im going to get it decked with the oil pump on. I also found that my cylinders are a little crappy so im going to bore it also, my question is is 87mm ok with out having to sleeve the block? and what piston is better? CP or JE? I am using Wiseco right now i will get more if they are available in 87mm. what are your opinions on this situation?

[godsmack]

87mm should be fine without sleeves but i'm not 100% on that one. but yes i would def. have the pump on when getting decked. eliminate the possiblity of that causing problems.

[jr_ss]

87mm is the largest you can go before having to run sleeves...

[kouki_drifter]

Thanks! I went 86.5mm so I still have room on this block just incase. I also am getting it decked with the oil pump on and i got my aline hone checked, my crank, fly wheel and preasure plate balanced so I should be good to go!

[Kingtal0n]

I like the OEM headgasket for engines < 420 horsepower because they are very sensitive to poor tunes, you are more likely to blow the headgasket than damage an expensive part.

Step 1: install OEM headgasket
Step 2: get it "Tuned"

If the headgasket blows, return to step 1, and get a new tuner.
Rinse and repeat until the headgasket doesnt blow

I have also used the cometic with great success. with copper spray and without. with head studs and without.
(always deck plate machined with head studs)

[kouki_drifter]

i just got it decked and bored to 86.5mm i got some cp pistons but the instructions suck anyone know how they go installed on the piston? 90deg from each other like oem? or different? like wiseco?

[jr_ss]

You have three rings per piston? It should be 180 degrees from each other for the top two rings, oil control rings I'm unsure of, but I wouldn't line them up. Put it 90 degrees from the second ring set.

[Walperstyle]

Make sure you file a proper gap in those rings before you install them.