dnswwood

check your oil too ..see if it looks like chocolate milk .If it does it is definatly a blown head gasket.But remember just because the oil isnt chocolate milk colored doesnt mean it isnt blown.

Yonco

sigh... yup, oil is contaminated... sigh... every weekend is 10 more hours of working on something ive already done... 1 step forward, 2 or 3 backwards... im just so depressed from this damn thing. -Jon

Soaring

OK, now that you are depressed, you can sell that beautiful 'Stang to me for a song and I will make sure the gasket gets put on right, then you can buy it back from me for a whole bunch of dough.

rmodel65

did u follow the proper head tightening sequence? did u lightly oil the bolt so u could get accurate totque readings and did u follow the step procedure on the torque sa y if its 75ft lbs u do 25 on all of them 50 then 75?

Yonco

I have a shop manual that shows a diagram to tighten from the inside bolts out. It also says follow a "3 step" tighteing procedure so they wont need retorqueing" The 3 steps included 3 diff torque ratings. I followed both of these steps. I dont see what i did wrong besides low on coolant causing it to overheat. Can i just tighten the head bolts like 25 ft lbs over the max and seal it that way? -Jon

Soaring

You run the risk of twisting off a bolt if you tighten it any more. There is a chance that you put the gasket on upside down. If I were you, I would just take the head back off and put a new gasket on, making sure the gasket is on right, and that the torque sequence is followed with a ratchet torque wrench.

Yonco

it was on right and i followed the sequence right!!! i triple checked, front was to the front! im sure of it! -Jon

rmodel65

could be just the intake gasket making it run weird and leaking water into the oil did u follow the proper torque sequence on it?

Yonco

Yes i did and even read the instructions on how "not" to tighted the outside bolts to much because it said they overhang the block<--- instructions said they not to tighten as much( they gave tq spec) so i followed that. The way its running is just so weak on the drivers side 4 cyls and u can feel it! I really dont think i did anything wrong! i know i may be getting pissy, this was my first rebuild so i read everything triple times although since its my first, theres even more room for error! thanks for helping. And i am going to try over tighteing the headbolts, in sequence by a small amount. ill take the chance oftearing one of the ARP bolts off or stripping it, if it does bust, ill pull it and figure something out then. Should i retorque them down while the engine isHOT or cold? -Jon

rmodel65

if it blown its blown torquing them more isnt gonna stop a leak id get a cylinder leak down tool to eliminate the head gaskets b4 i disassemble anything do that see which one its is then if theres a problem pull the head