Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

[dmoriarty51]

My 95' 70hp johnson rebuilt powerhead, is leaking a small amount of water from the headgasket below the the bottom cylinder, a small dribble i guess describes it. So far the engine has only been run at idle/fast idle portion of breakin procedures. The builder said retorque head bolts, I have done so and this slowed it down somewhat. They are now telling me to move forward and run the engine some to see if it seals up after being fully warmed. If not we will replace the headgasket.

Does this make sense? As I told them i just dont want to create a larger problem, I did check compression, showed 125-130psi across the board. I dont recall the exact numbers but well within the 10% rule nearly identical, as they should be on a motor with 20-30 minutes of idling time.

 

[Rick.]

Re: Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

Perhaps they did not re-surface the head, perhaps an imperfect gasket. If your compression is that good then not to worry. That small water leak is not going into the cylinder which would be a bigger concern. In the end I would insist they replace the head gasket but it will not be a problem for the short term as long as it does not get worse. Best of luck. Rick.

 

[stylesabu]

Re: Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

finish nup the season,keep checking leak.if its still leaking after the 10 hours of break-in. have them fix it before you store it. I just finished breaking in a new powerhead. and it did say to re-torque head bolts a couple of times

 

[mark in new jersey]

Re: Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

I can't agree with the "not a problem in the short term"....

If it's leaking, it's leaking, and it ought not be doing so. Problem is: there's no way to know if it's leaking into the cylinder or not.

If you're torqued to spec and leaking, I'd tear it down & find out why.

 

[Haffiman]

Re: Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

The only way it may 'seal up by time' is due to corrosion build up.
Have it rectified asap!
A new-sealed engine should not leak.

 

[dmoriarty51]

Re: Why is my rebuilt powerhead leaking water from the headgasket?

Thats my thinking Haffiman, and Mark Im not tearing anything down.....Its under warranty someone else is and im not paying the bill either. I will heat cycle it by actually running the boat around some like they want me to and recheck torque again, if there is still water I plan to demand it be fixed on their dime.