Changed head gasket....truck won't start...please help

When I first started tearing it down I failed to mark the distributor and align the crankshaft pully groove with the 0 on the marker. I went by eye "without knowing any better" by looking down the spark plug tube on cyl#1. When I removed the head I noticed the cyl was about 3/8" low so without even thinking about it I cranked it up even. That is where the trouble started. So, going by pictures that I took, I aligned the crank pully up with 0 located the cams best I could by the photos and hoped for the best. Not one of my best moments, but I've learned a lot in the process. I did mark the upper timing gear, zip tied the chain to the gear so it wouldn't move. Now, when I removed the cams the 2nd time, this afternoon, I made sure that the crank pully was ligned up to 0 at TDC on compression, to upper timing sproket dimple & then the dots on the rear of the cam sprockets. I feel the timing is right on, but I'll get back into it tomorrow. Is the thought of the engine block being nothing but a dumb air pump a correct thought? The cams and their position determine the difference between the intake and compression stroke. Is this theory wrong?

 

It's one way of looking at it, but, the intake and compression strokes are really part of the same 360* rotation of the crank and is effected by only the intake camshaft. Starting at TDC, piston down with intake valve open is intake and piston back up with intake valve closed is compression. Plug fires and piston down is power stroke, exhaust valve opens and piston up is exhaust stroke. Four stroke = only two 360* rotations of the crankshaft.

When talking about TDC, it's generally referenced as being at TDC of the compression stroke. The other TDC of a complete cylinder firing cycle is referenced as the exhaust TDC, but I have never seen it used except to differentiate from the compression stroke TDC, which is the one always used for alignment and timing settings.

Edit: Good link in previous post. That's where I'd start reassembly.

 

I used high temp black RTV silicone in place of the manuals "seal packing". Was that okay? If not, what should I use the second time around? I have another question as well that might sound kinda stupid. Since the head gasket is brand new, can I reuse it once I have the head shaved? Assuming that the head is warped and caused the head gasket not to seal properly. I heard air hissing out of the timing chamber during the compression stroke. Was this due to the silicone I used?

 

What exactly is the seal packing 08826–00080 that is called out in the manual? Maybe the high temp black rtv is responsible for my air leak? I hope I can reuse the head gasket. Can I buy that at an aftermarket parts store or is a dealer item only.

 

I don't know about the manual's "seal packing" specifics, but you should be fine with high-temp RTV at the timing chain cover. Did you apply the RTV to the entire head gasket? If you did use RTV on the entire head gasket, you need to start over. Don't be offended that I ask, your posts are a bit confusing about this. The RTV only goes at the juncture of the head and timing case cover.

You can probably use the head gasket over if it isn't damaged, but good practice is to always replace one whenever the head is removed because the cost of a new gasket is minimal compared to the time it takes to replace a reused one that doesn't seal correctly.

You are torquing head bolts and cam bearing caps (if you had them off) aren't you? This is one of the times that it is imperative that you use a torque wrench and follow the bolt tightening pattern. There are no shortcuts for the proper method of doing this.

The leaking air you hear from the timing chain cover could come from the head, but most likely from the crankcase. There's probably not much oil left on your cylinder walls after you flooded and dried them out and the air coming from the timing chain case is probably ring blow-by. The RTV on the head gasket doesn't seal air/fuel, it seals the timing chain cover. Even if you misapplied the RTV at the timing chain cover, it wouldn't cause a cylinder to leak into the cover. If you RTV'd the entire gasket, it would certainly cause problems.

It would be good if you got some hands on assistance from somebody local. A head-gasket replacement can be overwhelming the first time, and asking for someone's experienced help is nothing to be ashamed of.

 

Thanks for the advise. I only applied the rtv on the front of the head gasket. Actually on the block, about 1 inch strips of it according to the manual. Then I located the headgasket into place and followed the correct torquing sequence according to the manual. 3 steps. 1st pass at 29 ft bls and then 2 passes measuring 90 degree pulls on the wrench. Maybe I will hold off on replacing the gasket again until I get it started. Just to make sure that the noise I'm hearing is in fact the "blow by" you described above. That would be great!

 

It sounds like you are good to go so far. Get those camshafts set correctly, distributor indexed, and fire that bad boy up! Good luck to you.

 

That is the plan for today. I believe the cams are indexted correctly. Do you have a photo of what the cams are supposed to look like at TDC on the compression storke?

 

Vlander, one thing to keep in mind is Permatex Black HT RTV has an over night cure time. That is about 12-16 hours without having contact to any oil. about two hours after initial application, you will need to re-torque the bolts too. I would highly Recommend using Ultra Grey instead. You put it on, bolt everything up, and you're ready go an hour later. Ultra Blacks primary use is designed for differentials and domestic applications where bolt patterns are much more spread out. Ultra Grey is for high vibration, and close bolt pattern applications that are common in import desgins. Just some food for thought.

 

How do I add photos to this message?

 

I'll go take the valve cover off again and can email you a few photos at cyl# 1 at TDC on the comp stroke.

 

The notch on the crank pulley is pointing directly at the 0, I just couldn't get a photo of that one. Pictures are taken with my phone, I aplogize now for their quality, or lack there of.

pic#1 showing upper timing sprocket with mark pointing straight up
pic#2 showing timing marks ligning up on the rear of the cam gears
pic#3 shows up close view of striaght above cyl#1 cams @ TDC
pic#4 shows dist pointing @ #1 cyl at TDC on comp stroke
pic#5 shows view of entire cam

 

SHE'S ALIVE! I had the distributor off 180 degrees and fixed it before I took the photo. She is idleing just fine and so far....no drips...no anitifeeze burning. I'm letting it get up to running temp and then going to let it cool off. Then I'll go over everything again to make sure its all good then take it for a very short test drive. Thanks to all!!!!!!!!

 

Congratulations! Feels pretty good, doesn't it?

 

maybe you have some bad gas??
j.k hope you get it running soon and it seems like youre close