M3NTALS B6T Build Thread pics always

[eurotiva]

I didn't know B6ts did not come with a good gasket. Yea bp blah blah...

[M3NTAL]

Number 1 and number 4 were the culprits.

No specs on the pistons. No detonation.

Time for a MLS gasket.

[Rocketman]

Were the head bolts torqued properly? That shouldn't have happened to a stock gasket, especially with ARP head studs. IIRC ARP gets a different tq spec

How flat is the head? Block?

[M3NTAL]

They were both surfaced ( head and block) im not really sure why it happened. I've never had an issue with a stock gasket myself. I hope it doesn't happen again. Im going to order a MLS gasket today.

I hope it doesn't happen again.

[DON SVO]

WOW. That thing blew through the fire rings into the coolant passages QUICK. The failure looks like it went straight to the coolant passages.

This might be a dumb question but it's fair: did you do the proper ARP re-torque on the head studs after break-in? That's something I've seen when the ARP re-torque wasn't done.

[M3NTAL]

Re-torque? Never had to re torque studs in the past.

[eurotiva]

Arp recommends re tightening after a couple miles.

[DON SVO]

Re-torque? Never had to re torque studs in the past.

Their "hand tight" stud recommendation always makes me nervous, I'll go 10lbs on the studs before dropping the head on. This is a response from ARP that many people have gotten:

"Yes it's recommended that you re-torque after it's been run up to operating temp and let cool completely down."

[Hot_Wheels]

Chevk miata turbo on this topic, yes the studs are hand tight , there is some controversy over the suggested torque by arp, even a case where a head craked due to recomended torque.

[Advancedynamix]

I have had my b6t apart and back together a bunch of times, always use cometic gaskets and ARP studs at 80 lbs. I recheck after the first 2 heat cycles, but they have never loosened. The only engines that I have seen loosen were air cooled Porsches, but those engines expand a lot. It's always recommended to set the studs hand tight because they can crack the block if bottomed out. On the B6 with a stock uncut head and block you can't even tighten them all the way or you wont have full thread contact on the nuts. Bottoming them out doesn't make the assembly stronger, it just binds things up which doesn't allow for proper expansion and contraction of the individual parts under heat variations. The head bolt holes are already a weak link in the block, and the bottom of these holes is a known stress riser, especially on inline engines. If you've ever seen a 4 cylinder block snap in two, the crack usually starts at the bottom of the head bolt holes or the top of the main bolt holes (same type of situation).

[M3NTAL]

Skimsucka just got beat by the twin turbo duramax lol

[skimsucka]

Knew it was that truck...

[M3NTAL]

It's no joke it was 75% throttle

[defprun]

Those old aircooled porsches didnt have head gaskets did they? I suppose if they were built, they would. One day I will build one. Theres a guy around my place who has an aircooled vw sandrail thats street legal. Sounds amazing...

[Advancedynamix]

Some have crush rings and some have copper sealing rings, depending on the year and head design. On our race engines we would cut o-ring groves in the cylinders and heads and run Ni-Resist rings.