Re: 288 Head Gasket Planning

Posted by TxGoat On 2023/6/3 21:46:24

It's unusual to have a crack at an intake valve seat. Are you certain it's a crack?

A significant head gasket leak will usually show some indication on the gasket itself or on the surfaces it contacts where a leak is. The cylinder or cylinders affected by the leak will usually show some indication, too. In some cases, a cylinder may be free of carbon when the others aren't, or rust or other staining may be evident, or the spark plug will look different from the others. A head gasket leak often causes rapid rust-up of the cooling system, and coolant may turn rust colored.

Valve seat area cracks often don't reach the water jacket, although some certainly do.

It's possible the crack has nothing to do with the recent symptoms, and you just have a head gasket leak. An intake valve might run a good while with a cracked seat without burning. Uneven torquing or overtorquing the head could possibley lead to a crack at an intake valve seat.

An exhaust valve will usually burn pretty quickly running with a cracked seat. A burned or warped valve can cause a cracked seat, as could a rusted or clogged water distribution tube, or an overheating incident could cause it.