Engine WELP!... blown headgasket. Now what?

[Steel1]

Might as well have the heads checked out since you are removing them anyway, a good machine shop
can let you know if any work/valve job etc. needs to be done to them.
Sucks that that it happened but you'll now have the pleasure of becoming intimately acquainted with your car.

 

[96pushrod]

I've been using the 1415's and have been happy with them.. they seal and are cheap! Any specific ones i should look into?? I'm open to the idea of trying something else. Thanks!

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cgt-c5899-030/make/ford

^^^ I like those since they can be reused if you ever need to remove the header

 

[JD1964]

After cleaning the block deck really good, check the deck surface thoroughly with a straight edge and feeler gauge. If you do all the head gasket work on a block deck that is not within spec, you'll be back in the same boat soon enough.

If the block is out of spec, you should pull it and have it decked.

Admittedly, my application is boosted so a good head gasket seal is extremely critical, my block was just barely out of spec. I couldn't get head gaskets to hold until I had it decked. and it only needed .002 shaved. Haven't had a problem since. I'm also using ARP studs and Cometic gaskets

 

[JD1964]

...yeah, these SBF blocks only have 4 head bolts surrounding each cylinder. It's a less than ideal design to begin with. So, you need to give head gasket work all the best practices possible if you want longevity.

 

[Cheapskate207]

After cleaning the block deck really good, check the deck surface thoroughly with a straight edge and feeler gauge. If you do all the head gasket work on a block deck that is not within spec, you'll be back in the same boat soon enough.

If the block is out of spec, you should pull it and have it decked.

Admittedly, my application is boosted so a good head gasket seal is extremely critical, my block was just barely out of spec. I couldn't get head gaskets to hold until I had it decked. and it only needed .002 shaved. Haven't had a problem since. I'm also using ARP studs and Cometic gaskets

Thanks for the tips! I too have ARP studs. I planned to boost, but after the oil test I think I'm going to save the money for a rebuild. Who know's how long it'll last though, especially NA. Hopefully l long time. I don't think that its too bad... compression is good and it made 300hp/341tq a few thousand miles ago. Anyway, I will check the block out while I'm in there.

 

[Cheapskate207]

Might as well have the heads checked out since you are removing them anyway, a good machine shop
can let you know if any work/valve job etc. needs to be done to them.
Sucks that that it happened but you'll now have the pleasure of becoming intimately acquainted with your car.

Cool, will do. Thanks. Yea, it's a bummer, but fortunately I enjoy this kind of stuff. I plan to jump right on it.. winter is long here in Maine so I have a few more months of storage. Thankfully I have a heated garage and removed all the stuff I didn't need of my motor!

 

[JD1964]

If you plan to boost, definitely deck the block. If you know how much total material you had removed from the block and heads combined, you can order Cometic head gaskets in a specific thickness to compensate for any material that's been removed. This will help to keep your compression from creeping to high which is also a concern on a boosted application.