Head bolt Concerns!!!!!

**brown1911** · 03-10-2010, 05:30 PM

Hello everyone, I recently purcahsed this car back in Oct. 09. This was an impulse buy, so I don't drive it very often. I have noticed that it had lost some coolant, but hadn't found anything under it. Two weeks ago I started th car just because it had not been run in a while. After about 30 minutes I checked on the car, when I open the door the temp gauge is almost to the red. Upon further inspection after letting it cool off not much coolant and after restart plumes of steam came out the exhaust. You know the rest of the story. After tearing engine down I found blown gasket on number 7. That was just some background info on where I am with car. My question is I know what it takes to repair Northstar head gasket issues, does the LS1 engine have this same problem? Seeing it is an all aluminum casting. What is required to retorqing new headbolts?

Thanks Brown1911
2000 Z28 LS1

**Cutlass** · 03-10-2010, 05:44 PM

I'm also very familiar with the Northstar headgasket repairs (I'm a caddy dealer tech) and I'm happy to let you know that pulled threads isn't really an issue on the LS1. Just follow the service manual instructions and you'll be fine

**pajeff02** · 03-10-2010, 05:49 PM

Be sure to use compressed air to blow any and all coolant out of the head bolt holes before reassembly.

**0rion** · 03-10-2010, 05:52 PM

I would check and make sure the heads aren't warped where someone overheated it at some point or something. LS1's blowing head gaskets just isn't that common unless they're boosted. Not that it doesn't or couldn't happen....just not real common.

**brown1911** · 03-10-2010, 06:00 PM

Thanks for the info gentlemen, the heads are at the machine shop as we speak being checked for flatness, and being milled as needed. Yes, cleaning block threads is always a part of my head gasket replacement procedures. I think the guy I bought the car from held his breath the whole time I was looking car over.

**0rion** · 03-10-2010, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by brown1911

Thanks for the info gentlemen, the heads are at the machine shop as we speak being checked for flatness, and being milled as needed. Yes, cleaning block threads is always a part of my head gasket replacement procedures. I think the guy I bought the car from held his breath the whole time I was looking car over.

it's not so much chasing the threads as it is making sure you get coolant out of those bolt holes. They're blind holes so they'll hold coolant in there and bad things will happen when you torque the head bolts down.