Hi All,

I think my EL head gasket is blown because im losing a lot of water and it is misfiring when cold.

One question, do i need to remove all the valve gear when getting the head machined?

Are you getting water in the oil?

It is always good to get the head machined when doin a head gasket

I don't think you can leave the cam and rocker gear on (if that's what you mean), and not sure why you would want to. They are quick and easy to remove. Even if they can do the machining with the gear on, the cam would hold some of the valves open, potentially interfering with the milling head.

I sent my head with valves, springs & retainers installed to the head shop. They milled it (.015" off), replaced the valve seals, and did a 3-angle valve job while they were at it. If you are going to the cost of head gasket replacement, it doesn't cost much more to get a valve grind done at the same time - makes sense.

Regarding blown gasket. Yours sounds just like my EF did when the head gasket went. But take a good look for coolant leaks before coughing up for a head gasket. Then check for oil in coolant (oil slick in the reservoir) or coolant in oil ("chocolate milkshake" on the dipstick or under the oil filler cap). If neither of those, the coolant could be going into a cylinder or two. Check your spark plugs (after the engine has run up to operating temp); the insulator should normally be in the tan, brown, grey range (at least on one side). If one or two spark plugs are perfectly clean, with pure white insulators, they are getting "steam cleaned" by coolant going into the cylinders.

Thanks all, the oil looks fine i have seen heads go before and the oil goes mily or under the cap is but there is nothing like that.

Ill have to check the spark plugs on the weekend and see how they look and go from there.

Anyone know a good head machining shop north of adelaide?

Check behind your exhuast manifold to see if the head is weeping.You will have to take the heat sheild off to tell. If you see coolant weeping from the head it's the head gasket. Mine was weeping and the only way i knew was that i was loosing alot of coolant (still ran fine) no water in oil. Also check welch plugs on both sides of the motor. If it's not weeping compression test to see if it's leaking between cylinders. You can do this by taking out each spark plug 1 by 1 and putting something over the spark plug hole(not in)eg. Handle end of a screwdriver with clean rag over end while cranking engine and see if it blows it out. Keep a good hold of screwdriver though.You will need two ppl,one to crank engine and one to check.If you cannot hold pressure over the spark plug hole(as it blows it out) that cylinder should be fine,move to the next. If it doesn't blow it out or it's weak it's your problem. Replace all the welch plugs with brass ones while you have the head off. Another good place to look is on the heater pipes. Check hoses and replace if old,check behing water pump as the o-ring leaks sometimes. Check water pump seal and radiator for leaks,check thermostat housing and heater pipe that runs to this also...

Last edited by Ef Ghia XR6 on Sun Jul 01, 2012 3:55 pm, edited 10 times in total.

It depends where the leak is and how bad the leak it. A smallish leak into a chamber won't turn the oil milky. A large leak to a chamber will give the milky stuff under the cap as the coolant leaks down past the rings while the engine is not running.


There are a number of ways the gasket can leak, all with different tell tales.