I blew up another headgasket today in my truck. It happened before when i was running a stock 6.0 but i changed it and went. now that i have my new forged 370 with about 250 miles on it, the gaskets went out again. Its on the exhaust side becuase my turbo has coolant in it, but i didnt lose any oil pressure, and the motor never saw over 170 degrees. (16psi at the time of the push out). Now ive always used MLS gaskets and this was the first time i used Felpro gaskets. Do you think that is the whole problem? my logs show no KR, and i didnt hear any detonation or ping at the time. Also my current CR is 9.46:1. Do i need to go back to MLS gaskets?

 

Damn Dan, that sucks!

 

Everybody over at tech is running MLS gaskets, whether they're o-ringed or not.

Are you running head studs? Do you re-torque them after a few heat cycles?

 

You are lifting the heads at 16psi of boost.That is a problem that LSX engines have due to the number of head bolts around each cylinder.

 

I do have head bolts, not studs but they are ARP. I retorqued them after about 20 miles of easy driving, no boost, but none since then. Im gonna try and get some MLS ones this week, and maybe back on the road by next weekend

 

What kind of heads are you using?

 

they are ported and polished 853's. I have a set of 317s im workin on as well. I might just finish up the 317s and try them out. It might be safer compression with as much boost as i wanna run

 

You need studs not head bolts,you'll need extra head torque and you might need aftermarket heads with a thicker deck.16 lbs of boost is a lot of boost most LSX motors will lift the heads at anything more that 14lbs of boost.

 

I really thought this might happen, so im gonna keep the boost at 10-12psi from now on till i can afford better heads. Thats a bigger investment than im willing to take now that i need a new roof on my house Can you install the head on the studs while the motor is in the truck? its tight isnt it?

 

Driverside bottom rear will have to slide in when you drop the head on the deck. All the rest can be threaded in while the head is on IIRC.