major set back tonight

[95PCTBK]

got every thing connected and fired the car up and the head bolts leaked water. I put arp head studs in and mr. gasket mls head gaskets trying to do the right thing and f-up,did not us thread selant on the bottom head studs. but the car sounds killer. is there any way to fix this with out buying new gaskets? please respoond

[Baldturbofreak]

You might be in luck, it's my understanding that Mls's can be reused provded your careful with them. contact the manufacturer to be sure

[TONYDEE64]

Are you sure your head studs are going throuigh water jackets? the head bolts on my Merlin block do not.

[mn_vette]

If the car was only fired up for a minute or two then the gaskets should not have had time to disform. I doubt you will have any trouble just pulling the heads rignt off without any sticking and what not.

But then again spending the extra $100 to make sure its done right and doesn't have to be redone sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Tony, my head studs go right into the water jacket, but I'm using a stock block.

[95PCTBK]

you can reuse them. Im going to pull each stud and apply thread selant and retourqe each one so i dont have to pull the head is that a bad idea

[blown87]

Originally Posted by 95PCTBK

you can reuse them. Im going to pull each stud and apply thread selant and retourqe each one so i dont have to pull the head is that a bad idea

you have not lost much if it does not work, i would just do them in the proper order.

[bill mcdonald]

Originally Posted by 95PCTBK

you can reuse them. Im going to pull each stud and apply thread selant and retourqe each one so i dont have to pull the head is that a bad idea

I have seen it suggested before in other topic sections.


I would give this a shot as well. I would drain some of the coolant out though to get the level down, just to keep the mess down to a min.

[95PCTBK]

should i use the arp thread selant or something else

[lcvette]

use the moly ARP assembly lube for the blind holes and I like copper sealer for the hole that run into the water jacket. as for pulling studs and re-sealing them, I would probably pull the heads and re clean everything really well, if water came out the head bolt holes, and you're using MLS gaskets, there is a very good possibility that water got between the head and block and may cause a sealing issue down the road. MLS gaskets are reusable but it will mean putting new intake manifold gaskets on and resealing the intake to the block. sorry for the oversight, that is disheartening I know.. I did the same thing once a very long time ago just being in a hurry and completely overlooked thread sealant..

Chris

[SloRvette]

Drain the coolant down. Brake clean and compressed air down the bolt holes. Ultra Black silicone on the threads as a sealer when you reassemble.