poulrais
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2006
- Location
- Quebec, CAN
Brand new build... Very clean B230 NA block, decked and bored. 16V head, resurfaced and tested. Yoshifab forged 16V pistons and rods. 0.045 Cometic MLS head gasket and ARP head studs and bolts. Torqued to ARP specs with their lube.
Started the motor to get a heat cycle in. Noticed that the break in oil was somewhat creamy. What the hell! Maybe some condensation build up in the engine because it was left sitting in the tuner's garage driveway for a good 2 months waiting to be wired for the MS3.
Dropped the oil. Restarted, let the heat build up some. Oil checked and it comes out even creamier. Damn!!!
We pondered on either lifting the cam carrier and re-torque the head studs or lifting the head from the block to check the head gasket. I bought a regular Elring HG just in case the Cometic is crapped. We finally took the decision to lift the head cause removing and reinstalling this cam carrier is such a pain in the ass and I didn't want to put in all this work and have to take the carrier off again if it still doesn't seal right.
So... Here are the pictures. It's quite obvious that the HG wasn't sealing correctly because of the differences in the shapes of the coolant and oil passages between the head and the block. The embossing on the edges of the holes in the HG for these passages is preventing the gasket to seal the spaces between the coolant and oil passages.
Should I notify Cometic about this and ask for a refund and for them to reimburse some of the expense for removing/reinstalling the head? They will probably tell me to go take a hike but I'll never know if I don't try...
Will the Elring be able to hold a good 25 PSI of boost with the ARP studs and a good tune? There will also be knock management configured on the MS3.
Started the motor to get a heat cycle in. Noticed that the break in oil was somewhat creamy. What the hell! Maybe some condensation build up in the engine because it was left sitting in the tuner's garage driveway for a good 2 months waiting to be wired for the MS3.
Dropped the oil. Restarted, let the heat build up some. Oil checked and it comes out even creamier. Damn!!!
We pondered on either lifting the cam carrier and re-torque the head studs or lifting the head from the block to check the head gasket. I bought a regular Elring HG just in case the Cometic is crapped. We finally took the decision to lift the head cause removing and reinstalling this cam carrier is such a pain in the ass and I didn't want to put in all this work and have to take the carrier off again if it still doesn't seal right.
So... Here are the pictures. It's quite obvious that the HG wasn't sealing correctly because of the differences in the shapes of the coolant and oil passages between the head and the block. The embossing on the edges of the holes in the HG for these passages is preventing the gasket to seal the spaces between the coolant and oil passages.
Should I notify Cometic about this and ask for a refund and for them to reimburse some of the expense for removing/reinstalling the head? They will probably tell me to go take a hike but I'll never know if I don't try...
Will the Elring be able to hold a good 25 PSI of boost with the ARP studs and a good tune? There will also be knock management configured on the MS3.