The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 261 with 235 head gasket oil leak

hello chaps. just rebuilt my engine ( no machine work), new head gasket ect..drilled the head steam holes... now beside the distributor and to the front of engine ive oil leak which dribbles out when reving?....whats best to do? ive tighted it down again hot. its not a copper gasket.?

should i torque it more? dont really want pull head off again?

its it possible the oil could be coming up the threds of the head bolt? i didnt use any sealer on the bolts? its got such pressure when it comes?

one more thing to add, is that ive put 10-30 oil in, im running the down draft tub and venter rocker box cap? when i put my hand over the rocker box "oil fill" hole...the leak is loads worse....?

There is some clarification needed.
The only head bolts on the distributor side are under the valve cover.
The only head bolt that goes into an oil supply is the center outer one on the distributor side, the rest go into blind holes.
Can you post a picture of where the oil is coming from?

That means that the oil is coming from an un-pressurized source, like a return galley. When you block the vent the air pressure increases in the rocker cover and helps push out the oil.
Sounds like there is a fair amount of blow by.

Did you check that the head was flat and there was no damage to block or head, in this case, around the oil return holes and push rod holes?
Most likely oil returning from the rockers is pooling on a mis-match (common) of gasket or castings at the head/block joint and the pressure is helping it find it's way out through a bad gasket or poor sealing surface.

thanks guys....ive just taken the head off...and the gasket is cut so close to the edge its unreal...looks like its drifted also when i put the head down to make it worse..

i will post a photo when home so others can try avoid this problem..

i have another gasket set but belive it will still be way close to the edge and have to try using alot of sealant.

Do you have any alignment pins to guide the head down into place? Several years ago I made some from a couple of extra head bolts. Sawed off the heads and cut a slot for a screwdriver. It helps to keep the gasket from drifting.

In response to your previous question, I would suggest never going over the stated torque limit on the head bolts.