I have an oil leak between the head and the block. What could be the cause of this? This motor has 700 miles on it. Felpro 1074 head gaskets were used. I had a shop put this engine together and I plan to take it back sometime this week. It is not coolant it is definitely oil. It also not coming from the valve covers. I am guessing the heads will have to come off again.

 

There is no pressurized oil through the head gasket. About the only way a head gasket could truely leak oil would be if there were a scratch in exactly the right place from the drainback holes to the edge of the gasket. That would be a truely freak occurance.

Take another look.

 

could it be the intake? and running down?

 

Where is the leak? Could be valve cover leaking down or intake. I've also seen oil from the spark plug hole, but that was just once and it cleared up within 20 minutes of the engine running, I guess it was just rings seating maybe?

 

Is the oil leaking out from either end of the head (i.e. not near the middle)?

When I took my heads off to do the heads/cam, it was pretty clear from the oil stains on the old head gaskets that the oil was pooling in the recessed area around the top of the two head bolts that are situated at either end of the head (These are the only two bolts that sit in a recessed area like this).

The factory did not use thread sealant under the bolt heads so the oil was able to seep down to the gasket and eventually out from between the head and block. In any event, this is my theory which seems to be born out by the stains on the head gasket - oil was visible only around the two bolt holes at the far ends of the head.

When I reassembled, I put thread sealant under the bolt heads and I believe that has fixed the issue (I haven't looked closely in the last little while).

Conceivably, you could just remove each of those two bolts one at a time and replace them with sealant under the bolt head.

Not sure if this is your problem but might be easy enough to try.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Saw it happen recently on an SBC at the back, lower side of the head. A new gasket, proper sealant on the bolts and torqued to proper specs cured it.

 

I am hoping that the head gasket does not have to be replaced. I have never heard of this happening before. I hope he does not try to charge me for this. I really think that the heads were not torqued properly. The leaks are at the front on the drivers side and the back on the passenger side.

 

Are you sure the back passenger one isnt the oil pressure sensor, It has 2 - 90 degree elbows on it.

 

If there is oil leaking between the head and block, the gasket(s) will be contaminated with oil and need to be replaced.

Better check that there were no foreign objects causing the issue, too.

 

Well, I took it back to the shop that assembled the engine. The guy said that it is coming from the intake gasket. I checked that myself but i did not see the leak coming from there. He said for another $100 dollars and the gasket, he could fix it. I think that is bull****. He said that since I supplied the gasket that he could not eat the total cost of the labor. I just paid this dude $2500 for the assembly and installation of the engine in my car. Why should I have to pay another $100 in labor? I can do it myself but I feel that he is should be held responsible.

 

While the situation sucks, it's the risk you take when you supply your own parts. He should have checked for leaks when the engine was first installed and run, but I don't think I've ever met a shop owner that was willing to warranty parts that they didn't supply.

 

I understand your point but a gasket? I mean I am willing to buy the gasket but I don't think I should have to pay for labor. What if it was his screw up? Either way, I am picking up the car tomorrow and plan on replacing the gasket this weekend. I just hope I don't have to pull the heads to replace those gaskets also.

 

its not the gasket anyway, its the silicone on the ends of the block.....

I think its reasonable.... if you don't then you need to talk with the guy and let him know what you want the outcome of the situation to be and work something out. Crying about things never gets you very far

 

Show that guy the 1000 threads on this forum about how to fix the leaky intake on our cars, then ask him to do it under warranty.

 

What was the outcome of this situation. I recently saw one that was leaking from both rear corners of what appeared to be the mating surface of the heads and block. Turns out it was simply the silicone at the back of the intake leaking at the corners and then running down the edge of the head.