New head gasket leaking

[nick]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nick</i>
I'm starting to wonder about the accuracy of my torque wrench.

[79 TR7

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">


Bought a new torque wrench and found my old one is waaaay low. Ran the engine for a while and retorqued with the new wrench to 60ft/lbs. I have one small oil leak at the back corner of the block. What would be the highest torque value I could try to nip this leak?


nick
'79 TR7

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

OK, this might sound crazy, but have you installed the intake gasket correctly? It is easy to flip it over and it will not cover one of the water holes.



If the little tab on the gasket doesn't cover the hole, it will leak all over the place.



Clay

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[nick]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">OK, this might sound crazy, but have you installed the intake gasket correctly? It is easy to flip it over and it will not cover one of the water holes.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I did look at that because the correct fit is counter intuitive. Had I not looked closely at the previous gasket's witness mark, I may have installed it incorrectly. Once I got the head torqued properly with the new torque wrench the water leaking problem is gone. I do have, however, a minor oil leak at the back corner of the head/block. I was hoping for a completely oil leak free car at the end of this project. Maybe that's a fantasy with the TR7.


nick
'79 TR7

[John Clancy]

Yep, dream on Nick! Well done for getting a decent head gasket in there. Remember to torque it down again after a few hundred miles as it will loosen up.

And in case it hasn't been rammed down your throat previously, keep at least 30% corrosion inhibiting antifreeze in your coolant at all times. You don't ever want your car to overheat otherwise the integrity of the gasket can be compromised by a warping head. Shouldn't be so much of a problem with a Payen gasket but best not to risk it in the first place.

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[FI Spyder]

[quote]<i>Originally posted by nick</i>

I was hoping for a completely oil leak free car at the end of this project. Maybe that's a fantasy with the TR7.
[quote]

You should be able to come pretty close. I only have a few drops coming from original transmission seals, I keep a couple of sheets of cardboard under the car so I can keep tabs on everything. After 6 months to a year I only have a few drops on them. My 8 and 11 year newer Ioyota and Acura leak more oil.


TR7 Spider - 1978 Spitfire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT

[nick]

Since my last post I cranked a few more pounds on the rear stud and bolt and that seemed to shore up the leak. At the moment I am leak free. That was one of my goals when I started this rebuild project. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm rabid about no oil leaks. Having said that I'm sure some would say that I picked the wrong project.


nick
'79 TR7