What head gaskets are you guys running with your aluminum heads? The reason I ask is I am running the felpro 1003 with my AFR's and I seem to be getting some seapage from around the gasket. It looks like the block is sweating. Not what I would consider a "leak", but you can definitely tell the sides of the block is wet to the touch. Heads were torqued to spec in recommended increments. Heads were not retorqued after the first heat cycle as I don't have what I consider a high compression engine.
Engine is coming out to be put in another car so I will be pulling the heads off to put head gaskets on it. I have looked at the different gaskets out there, but would like some input on the choices out there based on some personal experience with what you guys are running. Thanks a bunch.

 

Cast aluminum has a nasty habit of creeping under load due to its porosity. When I went back to retorque the bolts on my heads, they all went at least an additional 1/2-1 full turn or more to bring them back into spec (IIRC, I have the Felpro 7733 gasket). So, FWIW, they do benefit from being retorqued.

Assuming its really coolant and not oil and coming from the heads, its more likely that its the bolts themselves that are leaking, and not the gasket. If the gasket is leaking coolant, then youve really got an issue. What kind of sealant did you use on the bolts? Since youll likely need to redo the sealing somewhere, you could try retorqueing one of the heads to see how far off it really is.

Its also possible that the intake is leaking. The coolant will tend to run down the sides of the block near the front and rear when it does happen. Id check all the usual suspects first before looking at the head gaskets. You could also pressure check the cooling system and engine prior to removal to verify where the cooling system is leaking.

 

fel pro 1094. but it's only .015 thick.

 

Coolant is drained already, so can't do a pressure test. I have always used head bolts along with Ultra Copper RTV silicone. Never a problem, but that was with cast iron heads. Now i'm using aluminum heads and i'm having little issues like this. Kinda the uncharted territory thing going on. Do what the manufacturer says and still have a little problem like coolant seaping from between the head and gasket or block and gasket. What is the absolute BEST product to use when trying the seal the threads going into the block? I was looking at either the permatex's blue threadlocker or their high perf thread sealant. Just too many choices out there. Guess that's what makes this fun. lol

 

You definitely have to re torque the bolts after a few heat cycles, compression has nothing to do with it, it's the aluminum.