--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My buddy and I started the vehicle and it is leaking oil from the head right behind the alternator (drivers forward). Is there something that we missed? We pulled the valve cover to check that our bolts were all torqued and that none were loose and none were. We followed the correct torque patterns, we made sure that the head seated properly and everything. This was our first 1.8T build though and all I can think is that I missed something. I feel like **** because it is my buddies car, I talked him into buying it, I told him that I could fix it and now this. I know it is a minor stumble but I can't for the life of me figure out why in the hell it is leaking.

Brand new head.
Brand new gaskets everywhere.
Correct torques and torque procedures were followed.
Cleaned the hell out of the gasket surface on the block (not much to clean anyway since they are metal gaskets).

This is not a small leak either. It is leaking a fair amount when the vehicle is started.

Any ideas or help? Anyone come across this before?

Thanks,
FloppyJunk

 

are you sure everything is flat and not warped?

 

is it coming from the head gasket or no? theres a few other things behind the alternator that could leak, mainly the oil cooler/oil filter. you have to just trace the oil back to where its coming from.

on a side note- you know head gaskets only get installed one way- theres a top and a bottom and a correct orientation. if you have it upside down which is possible it would leak like crazy.

 

It definitely appears to be coming from the head gasket but I can not be 100% sure being that the manifold makes difficult to see. Also, how do you guys check for oil pressure on these things? It stopped leaking for 2-3 terst runs and then started leaking again. I can't see oil pumping up to the head through the oil filler cap. This thing also sounds like a diesel. Alot of clacking noise.

 

Well, I guess not. I bought a reman head from Clearwater Cylinder Head in Clearwater FL (very reputable) and it was one of the best looking reman heads I have ever seen. I didn't check it for true becausse I didn't feel it was necessary. However, I don't honestly think that a warped head would only leak oil. I am considering the fact that this thing sat for a year and that the oil looked like *** may have possibly clogged the oil passages. I don't know how to check the oil pressure on this thing so I am going to have to come up with something.

If not, I am going to have to pull the head.

 

do a compression and leakdown test to make sure the head gasket is sealing. to test for oil pressure you can take out the oil pressure sender that is in there and replace it with a mechanical gauge that will show you PSI.

you arent supposed to. and the noise is the lifters and cam chain tensioner not getting any oil. do not run it very long like this. and stop going for test drives.

this might be a dumb question, but did you change the oil while you were at it?

 

I put brand new Mobil one Synthetic. Let me elaborate, there have been no TEST DRIVES only test starts. I have run the vehicle a few times on jacks disassembled to make sure that everything was functioning before I put it the rest of the way back together. I always do this. Oil is my number one concern and when I realized there was not any I shut it down.

The oil pressure sender is on the filter housing correct? The gasket is definitely sealing the cylinders but it appears that they are not sealing one of the oil valleys that go between the block and cylinder.

UPDATE!!!
I had an idea for sovling my problem of having the engine running to check oil pressure. I removed my timing belt (used my big C-Clamp to press the belt tensioner (worked great) and reinserted the pin). I have a big electric impact and stuck a socket on it and used it to spin the oil pump pulley and I am in fact getting pressure. BUT...there is still a blockage somewhere, I am not getting oil to the oil cooler.

 

So your leaking and have blocked flow... like i said in your other thread, pickup tube is the most common spot for sludge to sit/build up... when you torqued the head on, what order did you tighten the bolts?