Copper head gaskets???

[Todd_A]

I swapped to Copper head gaskets the other day. I also changed heads too but I am getting water in the cylinder somehow. I o-ringed the block and used Studs and the copper gaskets are .081" thick to lower my compression.

What would the likelyhood be that I am leaking water into the combustion area fomr the copper gaskets and past the o-rings?

If it is not that then I guess it is the heads.

Also, anyone ahve experience with the coppers? Tell me your stories.....


Thanks
Todd

[sam sso2077]

You have to use either copper spray or hylomar to seal the gasket from leaking water. SCE recomends KW brand copper spray.
If you can't get them to seal, try the new cometic gasket. These a mutilaminated stainless steel gasket that have a viton coating. I put these on my outlaw nitrous car this year and work great so far, I have 1 passes on them.

[Todd_A]

Originally posted by sam sso2077
You have to use either copper spray or hylomar to seal the gasket from leaking water. SCE recomends KW brand copper spray.
If you can't get them to seal, try the new cometic gasket. These a mutilaminated stainless steel gasket that have a viton coating. I put these on my outlaw nitrous car this year and work great so far, I have 1 passes on them.

Thanks. Where can I get my hands on a pair of those cometic gaskets?

[Heater]

I just built a new engine and I had similar problems, here are two possibilities that I came across.
1. Check the height of the O-rings in the block and make sure that they are all evenly high, if one is higher that the rest it could keep the head from sitting flush on the block.

2. Check to make sure that your intake is seating against the heads...on mine there was a .030 gap that I couldn't see and water was leaking past the intake gasket into the cylinder head and ending up in the combustion chamber.

I hope this helps

[Todd_A]

I took it down last night and it turns out that that one of the o-rings was too deep in the grove (grove was cut too deep) in one area and that made the copper gasket not seat well there and that happened to be next to a water jacket. There was a little path where the sealer was gone between the water port and the combustion chamber and there was not a crushed in grove in the copper gasket there like everywhere else. So I put a few strands of copper wire from electrical wire under the o-ring in that area to raise it up and I think that will do it.

I put it back togehter coating both sides of the gasket with Ultra Copper RTV and torqued it to 90# up top and 80# onthe bottom row. Do you think that is torqued high enough - someone told me yesterday that they goto 100# top and bottom on their's.

[sam sso2077]

I hope the wire strands work? It depends on what size fastener. I go 90 ft/lb on 7/16" with moly lube and 120 ft/lb on 1/2" fasteners with moly. As far an using permatex, I used ultra-black on mine the first time, that last about 20passes.

[sam sso2077]

That was suppose to be 19 passes on the above post.