Opinions on low compression problems

[hatchbaak]

Hello zilvians. i am having a problem with very low compression and blown headgasket symptoms on my KA24DE. it does not make alot of sense and i will explain why. your opinions and input are appreciated. i just got the head back from the machine shop, and put it all back together on the engine. but my compression numbers are something like 65,32,39,96. so here are the details. the head was completely rebuilt, valve job, shaved, straightened, cam lines done, new stem seals etc. it was put back together on the engine with a fel-pro oem gasket torqued to 70 ft.lbs. with arp head studs. it was all put together right, everything to torque spec. timing done correctly (TDC, Front cam lobes pointing opposite of eachother, Distributer. at #1,etc.). it cranked over twice and started, then had a nice purr. everything sounded good. went to take it for a drive. when i hit the gas it bogged without power and after a little bit of driving the coolant system was overpressurized and boiling. typical blown HG symptoms. and my compression, as stated above was horrible. No coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant. exhaust is burning clean that i can tell. any ideas are appreciated. its getting damn cold outside, and i am sick of walking everywhere. thanks.

[scooz14]

arp head studs need to be torqued in stages

like 60, 80, 90, 110 or something like that i do not think that 70ft/lb is enough. you have probably blown the head gasket but other then that, i doubt any other damage has been done

[hatchbaak]

arp head studs need to be torqued in stages

like 60, 80, 90, 110 or something like that i do not think that 70ft/lb is enough. you have probably blown the head gasket but other then that, i doubt any other damage has been done
oem torque spec is 58-61 ft.lbs. i torqued 22,58,loosened all, then 22,58,70. i dont see how i could have blown the hg. all i did was start it.

[hatchbaak]

any ideas?

[hatchbaak]

Last bump. how much heat does it take to warp a KA block? Could my ARP head studs be to long since my head was shaved? ideas?

[Dousan_PG]

um
did you do the same to the block?
becuase they sit against eachother
would make sense to shave them both so there is an even mating surface.

[LA_phantom_240]

um
did you do the same to the block?
becuase they sit against eachother
would make sense to shave them both so there is an even mating surface.

Not so much. Here's what I understand about a KA.

Being an iron block, you can torque the head studs a good bit.

Shaving the head is generally not the best idea without a thicker headgasket, because of how our distributor works. Once you shave the head down so much, the gear on the end of the dizzy won't mesh with the timing gear and so it won't go together. It seems as though it wasn't shaved down this much though, which is good.

I'm not a pro, but I would imagine that shaving the block past a certain point would cause clearance issues with the pistons/rings/etc. As long as your mating surfaces are clean and straight, you should be good.

[hatchbaak]

thank you. this is good information. is it possible that the oem felpro gasket i bought new could have been bad from the start? (no pun intended). i am just trying to rule things out before i spend anymore money, as this has not been cheap. thanks in advance for your replies.

[LA_phantom_240]

thank you. this is good information. is it possible that the oem felpro gasket i bought new could have been bad from the start? (no pun intended). i am just trying to rule things out before i spend anymore money, as this has not been cheap. thanks in advance for your replies.

Honestly, it has to be something stupid simple. The pressurized cooling system an only be one of a few things. But to have a headgasket cause low compression on ALL cylinders is pretty odd.