The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop How can I tell if exhaust leak is due to cracked head or blown head gasket?

I think that I would have another machine shop look at the head. Sure sounds like a crack in a combustion chamber to me. The copper coat for the head gasket is only used on some types of head gasket. If you are using a modern FelPro gasket no spray is required. The heat tabs are a tattle tale devise used by engine builders and some machine shops use them. When an engine gets to hot it melts the center out of the tab.