headgasket suggestions

[WE287GN]

looking for suggestions ,so far i am running the felpro 1000's

i am having the loosing coolant,wet tailpipes ,water in valve covers but not the oil , good compresion bad leak down #'s blues

also tried coolant die with no results, so still not sure i have gasket problems so guess i gotta rip it apart.

85 turbo riv block with 8445's

i have had a few suggest the stock 85 gaskets,wich doesnt sound like a bad idea, i intend on keeping the arps and using the arp sealer,
lloking for a few more suggestions on the situation

thanks
Chris Pacheco
WE287GN

 

[FJM568]

Well, if you're having problems getting compostion gaskets to seal, good luck getting 84/5 steel shim gaskets to seal...

I'd go with the stock GM 86/7 head gaskets or the Fel-Pro replacements, I think they're the 9441's or something...

 

[WE287GN]

Originally posted by FJM568
Well, if you're having problems getting compostion gaskets to seal, good luck getting 84/5 steel shim gaskets to seal...

I'd go with the stock GM 86/7 head gaskets or the Fel-Pro replacements, I think they're the 9441's or something...

Hi, I had thaught about the 87 stockers, but it was suggested to me by someone that i should go with 85's because of deck height and gasket thickness between the years

would the 87's hurt me, i forgot the mechanics behind it

thanks
Chris Pacheco

 

[REDS HOT AIR]

if its a 85 block then there is no question ...to ask you wont beat a single steel shim.

i had compression leaking problems with stacked steels on my 87 motor but on my 85 with single steel i couldnt make then leak and believe me i tried..

i pulled my motor down for inspection after my turbo failures and have now gone to a single steel on my 87 motor.

with the 85 block you are hurting your performance by going with a thick gasket they were designed for single steels

 

[FJM568]

DOH!!!! Assumed 86/7 block...Maybe it's because of your screen name...

85 Riv motor didn't register for some reason...

Stock 84/5 steel shims would be fine...Just make sure the heads and deck surface are absolutely flat and not warped, and you should be fine...The only thing that running the composition 86/7 gaskets would do is they would lower your compression maybe half a point...heheh, just turn the boost up a little more...

 

[TurboMike]

FelPro 1000's are known for this problem. It cost me a motor once.

 

[WE287GN]

jim,red,mike, thanks for the response...after mikes post and the fact that i've heard the extra bolts holes on the 1000's may contribute to a problem,i have decided to not go with those.

i will go with the stock steels ..

the only thing i'm stumped on were my test results, i got 160-165 on comp test, but high % on leak down anywhere from 40-55

no leaks between cylinders, no bubbles in radiator with air in the cyl.just loosing water and guees its steeming to collect up in the valve covers???? must be a very small leak???

just suprised the car runs as good if my leakdown is that high

could this be my low boost issue also? i had swapped my boost actautor from my other car and i know it wasnt set this low, i'm gettign max 10lbs boost, but i do have a drivers side header leak,
just blabbing here,

thanks
Chris Pacheco