Old gasket:

Again why did it blow? the nuts were really loose, should I re torque the new one?

Head off

looked for cracks and put a straight edge on it, no warping.

cleaned the surfaces the best I could, vacuumed out debris and put just a little oil in each cylinder (it just seemed like a good idea).

the head is back on. I also took the time to clean out all of the head bolt holes with carb cleaner, ran the cleanest of the old bolts through each and blew them out with compressed air.

After fighting the cam sprocket for about an hour, I turned to the experts here and finally got it back on.

Thanks again guys.

Edited July 7, 201212 yr by grantf

FWIW the easy way to find manifold leaks is to use a smoke machine which pressurizes it to 2-3psi.

New gaskets:

I still don't know why the old one blew out. This time around I will periodically check the manifold nuts for proper torque. This gasket is different then the Felpro I used last time, It has round ports instead of the "diamond" ones. Also all new studs, shared washers and nuts

Manifolds back in place:

the nuts are torqued to 13 ft lbs. this just doesn't seem right, but it's what is called for in the FSM.

Now its time to connect all of the do-dads. BTW the head is only held down by the two small front bolts and two head bolts just rear of center, they are just snug. This is because I am still waiting for new head bolts to arrive in the mail.

Edited July 8, 201212 yr by grantf

I keep thinking I am bumping my own thread, so here is my last post:

I have the whole engine back together, did a look over, put coolant in and planned on giving it an oil change tomorrow before starting it up, But I could not help myself.

I turned the key and it started right up. Idles low but nothing unusual. I only ran the car for maybe 30 to 40 seconds and shut it down, cracked a beer, and posted here. Yey my first head R&R!

Where did you get your replacement gaskets? Did you buy a whole set, or just the upper?

I'm thinking that I'm going to have to be doing this soon...

I got all of them from MSA. none were felpro. I was not really impressed with the felpro manifold gasket I got from Napa.One gasket for the head, one gasket for the exhaust/intake and the exhaust downpipe to manifold.

Thanks.

I've had some problems with Felpro in the past as well. Mostly in areas (like head gaskets) where the gasket is in contact with water.