AQ145A Antifreeze in Cylinder

"I never noticed it until you

"I never noticed it until you said it, which is obviously why I asked. Would seeing that lead you to believe then that the head gasket is the only problem here then?

Cylinder 1 would be closest to the bow of the boat? Or do I have it backwards? Looking at it like that, cylinder two was the one with no compression.

Thanks for all your insight El Pescador, Paul, and everyone else!"

"#1 is the closest to the bow.

"#1 is the closest to the bow.

The 1st picture of your 2nd post seems to indicate soot in different parts of the head gasket, namely between cylinders 3 and 4 and by one of the cooling passages. Also, there seems to be discolouration in the gasket portions between cylinders. If I was to make a guess, it would be an inadequately torqued head (but this is just a guess). Of course, you could also have a cracked head, but the only way to find out for sure is by pressure testing it.

You may want to verify with a straightedge that the head is not warped. Then, turn the cam by hand and examine the valves. If they look good, I would just remove the old head gasket, clean the block and the head surfaces until there is no traces ot old gasket, rust or soot deposits, then install a new head gasket and torque the bolts as per specifications. The head gasket usually comes with torque instructions. If not, either check the Seloc manual or ask here for the torque values (or search the forum, I have posted them more than once).

If the above works, then you should be OK for the foreseeable future. If not (say for the sake of argument the head is cracked, etc) then you only have lost some time and a head gasket (but hey, you would have also gained some valuable experience, eh?)

Good luck, you are one step closer to fix your problem."

BURNT VALVES and GEAD gasket&#

BURNT VALVES and GEAD gasket(gasket looks ok)

"I did notice when removing th

"I did notice when removing the head bolts that they were not all the same tightness. Some of them I really had to work on to loosen up, and others seemingly came loose with minimal effort.

What exactly am I looking for during the inspection of the valves?

Eric, burned valves and head gasket, gasket looks ok..... what are you trying to say? I don't understand."

"Dave, you want to make sure t

"Dave, you want to make sure that the valve seats are clean and the valves are making contact all around. Also make sure the valves' surfaces are clean (not burned spots).

Don't worry about Eric's statements, you are not the only one who does not understand some of the things he posts. "

"El Pescador - Looks as though

"El Pescador - Looks as thought 50-60 ft. lbs is the answer for the torquing of the cylinder head. I assume you go from the outsides in working your way to the center of the cylinder head?!? (Upper left, then lower right, lower left, then upper right... etc.)

Not sure what part of the world your from, but if/when I am there.. the first round of drinks is on me."

"Read all the links below, the

"Read all the links below, then pick the right torques for your engine:

http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12487/25924.shtml

http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12487/150265.shtml

http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12487/head_torque_7732007_small-1432 0.pdf

http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12487/24130.shtml

http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12487/61546.shtml

Thanks for the offer, I live in Canada (West Coast)."

"Hmm... I didn't see the A

"Hmm... I didn't see the AQ145A listed there. Would it be the same as the AQ131 then?? I was backwards on my head torque tightening.. good thing you linked it to me... "

"According to the VP operator&

"According to the VP operator's manual, the AQ145A goes in 2 steps: 1st step 43ft.lb and 2nd step 66 ft.lb. You can download the manual from here:

http://www.volvo.com/volvopenta/global/en-gb/marine_leisure_engines/engines/out_ of_production_engines/out_of_production_engines.htm

Personally, I am guided by the instructions in the head gasket set, as they are usually more updated than the ones in the manuals. The last one I did (AQ140A) was 3 steps: 15 ft.lb, 43 ft.lb, then an additional 90º turn. This was for Allen head bolts."

"Man, I feel like a complete d

"Man, I feel like a complete dope. I downloaded that manual from VP quite awhile ago, read through it a dozen or so times, and it never hit me that those were the specs. I think maybe tonight I'll hook onto the trailer and pull it to the shop to finish this up since its so humid here now."

Make sure you torque the bolts

Make sure you torque the bolts from the centre outwards.

"Well, I took the boat down to

"Well, I took the boat down to my shop to put the new head gasket on this evening, (found out I need to replace a bunk on the trailer as well ) and think I found the root cause of my problem. Take a look at these pictures:

http://www.dragginframe.com/images/Boat/IM000841.JPG

http://www.dragginframe.com/images/Boat/IM000842.JPG

http://www.dragginframe.com/images/Boat/IM000843.JPG

http://www.dragginframe.com/images/Boat/IM000844.JPG

Looks like my head needs a mill job, yes? Obviously its a pretty good size warp, as I can slide a razor blade under my straightedge. (what I had handy next to me) Apparently it was overheated.

Anyone have an idea of what a mill job should run to get this thing straight again?"

"That explains the whole probl

"That explains the whole problem.......You definately have to take this head to a shop.
I usually pay 30 to 45 dollars to have a head milled. Not sure, but it looks as if you will have to have a lot shaved of of yours.
In that case, a lot of machine shops will give you a shim to make up the difference for what they have taken off.
As for my previous post, your original description sounded to me like you had burnt valves.
Thanks for the vote of confidence EL!!"

"Eric, in all the years I have

"Eric, in all the years I have been dealing with engines it is the first time I hear someone associating burned valves with antifreeze in the cylinder, and stating that a head gasket looks good when in my poor, uneducated view it shows a number of symptoms indicating this is not the case.

Obviously, I still have lots to learn..."

"Paul, if the head is badly wa

"Paul, if the head is badly warped, you may need a new one (or new to you I should say). Not sure how much they can skim from it before the compression increases too much, or if there are oversized head gaskets available to compensate for the removed material, or if installing two head gaskets will do the trick. I belive that a head of a 244 83-84 Volvo car fits your engine, but I am not 100% sure.

Also, you need to check the block with a straightedge, although chances are the damage is limited to the head."

"He has checked the head with

"He has checked the head with a straight edge......as you should see in the pics.
Srry you have a problem with my approach, EL P. I too have seen a lot of engines in my years.
I have seen a lot that have blown head gaskets as well as burnt valves.(in the same engine)
Sorry for not reading thoroughly through this post. I realize now that Dave has an original issue with antifreeze.
Thus explaining the whole issue of no compression. He definately has a problem with the head, as you can see in the pics......
I, just like you,EL, am trying to give some experience and advice to the boat owner.
I hope you don't feel so "high and mighty" to look down your nose at people like myself. We are all different with different minds, but come together to help each other.
That's what this forum is about, I believe.
Have a nice day all!!!!!!!"

"Eric, be assured that I do no

"Eric, be assured that I do not feel high and mighty at all. Also, I am not questioning that you are trying to help others. However, I respectfully suggest that your 458 posts to date are self-explanatory."

"Not a V8 mechanic but a quest

"Not a V8 mechanic but a question that might lead to some of the more experienced V8 mechanics, giving some guidance.
If you mill the head to correct such a bad warp, you would have a significant change in compression ratio on one bank of your engine, even with two gaskets you might still have a major difference. In my opinion as a NON v8 mechanic you are now creating differing stresses on your crank at the same time and that might affect the life of your engine. On the V6 outboards, if we decide to mill half of that much metal off of one head, we do it on both heads. And then we need to ensure we dont introduce other problems which are relative to where the compression was initally, like increased engine heating or problems due to the octane rating of fuel availabe in your area. not sure how expensive or difficult it might be to get a replacement head, but i would strongly recomend getting a replacement head instead of the mill job. And if this is restrictive, i would recomend getting a propper crack amd pressure test of this head even before the mill job is performed, and calculating the change in compression expected, to see if it might create problems. and as EL suggested check the block, rare, but i have come across warps in big cast iron blocks."

"Sounds like I am at a real cr

"Sounds like I am at a real crossroads here. I did a bit of calling around and it seems like anywhere between 35 bucks or so in the upwards of 100 bucks. I can't seem to find a cylinder head that would work.

One thing that was brought to my attention that no one else has mentioned as well, is what is the possibility that when the head warped, that now my cam and such is warped as well?"

"Dave,
your cam will not warp

"Dave,
your cam will not warp, in extreme circumstances it would snap and even shatter. You have no worries with the cam etc."