Mercury 200hp Black Max 86 HEAD GASKET HELP!

[JShafer90]

I bought new head gaskets and torqued them on according to the manual (35ft/lbs in increments of three) but it's still leaking water out of the head. I'm pretty sure I have everything in the right place and I even replaced the head bolts thinking maybe that was the issue? Any suggestions would help. Thanks.

 

[racerone]

Guaranteed the cylinder head is warped.----They all are !!------So part of the torque is used to straighten the head.------Get some valve grinding compound and a piece of solid glass and lap them flat

 

[JShafer90]

Okay you might have to break this down for me because I have no idea what that means? I'm just wondering how they can be warped? They leaked less with the old gaskets.

 

[sam am I]

The glass (or similar granite counter top) is used as a known flat surface to lay the sheet of sandpaper on. Once you have flat sandpaper, then lay the cylinder head mating surface on the sandpaper and sand the cylinder head's mating surface flat flat flat..........Hopefully your block isn't too bad and doesn't need decked (milled flat). You could be fighting city hall........try to sand the heads though first.

 

[Dukedog]

if its still leakin' after new gaskets ya talkin' lotsa work by hand.....

they need ta go to a machine shop... have what ever amount is needed to make 'em "flat" taken off... do both tha same... new gaskets... re-torque after motor is brought up to temp and cools off a coupla times.......