Can anyone advise on this one.

I removed the head off my cosworth i just bought as oil started mixing with water i e i think the head gasket has gone. Removed the head over the weekend and found no obvious breaches over water or oil but the head and block all on the inlet side is covered in copper grease. Why would the head have copper grease do people use this to seal????

Help required

Cheers

Ian

 

Not to sure about the copper grease but if its mixing the oil and water its normally a cracked head or block and if none of the valves are cleaner than the others in any one cylinder then id go with it being the block...
What head bolts is it on???


cheers danny

 

Can only assume the copper was there as some kind of bodge, not that it would(or did) achieve anything other than stopping the gasket from sealing, assume it was a metal gasket ?, if so very unlikely to show any evidence of blow apart from maybe where the grease has been steam cleaned away, very unlikely to be a cracked head or block, unless prior to your getting the car it ad been seriously overheated ?
Maybe someone had an idea it would stop the gasket sticking and so be easier to remove.
tabetha

 

If its got water in the oil and all the head bolts were tight and gasket looks good then id bet theres a cracked block or head!!


cheers danny

 

Standard head bolts which were all tight although two in from bulk head were a little looser than first two and group a head gasket all valves same colour carbons in header tank and using water and in the oil. the head was covered in copper grease all on the inlet side and even over to the pistons although when i slid the head over it could have moved grease over seems alot not been overheating as i new the last owner. Why purpose would this serve to bodge it up???

 

I only asked about head bolts incase some one got excited about that thread lube or something...does the h/g show any signs of failure???
Has the head been off lately???


cheers danny

 

how well did u know the last owner?! and did they ever have anything done?! As said copper grease wouldnt really bodge anything as it were, as u can get proper headgasket sealant which would work loads better to try and bodge it!!

Had the oil gone milky at all or was it oil getting into the water?!

Check around the bolt holes in the block for any signs of cracking, i bought an engine off someone on here years ago which was supposed 2 be sound but never ran right, and ended up with water getting into the oil and a sump full of baileys lol, due to buying a house took me ages to get round to taking the head off and found cracks around 3 bolt holes!! After a bit of discussion it seemed as if they more than likely had left oil in the bolt holes when they fitted a ported head before i ended up getting it causing it to hydraulic cracking the block round the 3 bolt holes, obviously will never know for definate but hey ho!!

 

Water in oil Baileys style Know the previous owner i bought it off and run fine for a good while he had no work done on the car but previous owner did have head re built and fresh group a on over a year ago i think. Will check the bolts holes> Was a bit dark when head came off

 

If the gasket looks ok with. No damage and bolt hole areas on block are on the sounds like what Danny said crack somewhere else on block or head!! If it didn't ever overheat then wouldn't think the head has warped at all

 

my engine started pressurising and messing about,looked to have oil in the water, but it never overheated and my temp gauge just sat as normal, took the head off to find a crack down the bore

 

i brought some headgasket sealer fluid for a shitty old metro years ago which you poured in the water after a shake and was supposed to seal it for good.. it leaked out after id put it in and looked just like runny copper grease over the engine..

 

second that ^^^^ had it on an S2 engine years ago .sounds to me like someones done a cheap sealent fix and its worn off

 

Spoke to owner today and yes he put copper k sealer in it to keep it going a few weeks till repaired> also took the head to enginering shop and you can see blow mark into water way on number 3 and where gasket pushed out and copper seal all over to oil way so hope its just the gasket was getting worse. It was apparently using water for a good few week and only in the last few days water getting into oil.

 

It's blatantly obvious either the engine was put together by a twat who didn't have a clue, and didn't torque up correctly, or the head is warped, and the reason why some bolts are looser.
Only going by your description of copper, but bodge was the correct term it seems, head should have been skimmed whilst off, or at least checked.
Micro cracking from bolt holes can be perfectly normal, the bolt holes don't so much hydraulic lock but what happens is when oil isn't used on cleaned threads on the top of the stud, it grips on and turns the whole stud, whose bottom thread is much coarser so it moves downwards much more, so if being a bit fast on the torque wrench can pull the threads/crack.
Another reason for depth checking arp stud and nuts kits, but some do that already.
tabetha

 

I hope you get it put back togther soon,i hope it will be ok too.