TxGoat wrote:
If you have had the head off the engine, did you carefully clean the block and head surfaces, paying special attention to areas where the head studs go into the block? All surfaces right up to the studs need to be clean and flat. Studs and stud holes in the head must be free of rust and scale. A new gasket should be used, and the head should be installed and the nuts tightened in the correct specified pattern. It's best to tighten them with a good torque wrench in 3 stages of about 1/3, then 2/3, then full recommended torque. Then, after filling the engine with water and running it for 15 or 20 minutes at light load or idle, it should be stopped and allowed to cool down, then the nuts retorqued to spec with the engine cool. At that point, I'd go for a short drive of a few miles at lower speeds and avoiding any hard pulls, then let it cool down again and again check all nuts for proper torque. Do any checking and tightening in the correct pattern and do not exceed recommended torque.