head gasket???????????????????

hi i have a p38 4.6 and it sounds like the exhaust manifold is blowing at the rear of the engine on the drivers side.Put new gaskets on and its still blowing if i put my hand under the manifold i can feel it blowing but i think its further back than the manifold,i cant get my hand in far enough to check it properly i have a hand full of burns to prove ive tried .So basically my question is head gasket its not using water and not much oil but it does weep oil from the sump so im guessing this is the oil loss justified.Could the head gasket sound like an exhaust blow if it is how could i check this thanks in advance

If your oil is not soapy and you not losing water, not overheating and not much oil loss then sounds like its not the head gasket. The cast iron headers might be cracked? Could even be a loose spark plug. If you cannot locate the escaping pressure then I would do a compression test.

it seems to be coming from behind the manifold lower down towards the head gasket its lost no power no other signs but sound poo and is gettin on my bits

you could try soapy water, make it quite soapy and then spray it on the area you suspect, get someone to turn car over while you try.

make sure engine is cold tho!!!

i cant get my fat head in to see it and the headers take a few second to get hot and burn trust me my hand and arm will tell you

Erm. Any other symptoms? Is the idle rock steady? Think the next course of action is check plugs. Remove 8 and 6 put engine oil on threads and re-insert torquing to 21nm. with escaping pressure usual spray some fluid around such as water to see if it reveals it. Obviously when hot water will just evaporate but if you try as soon as engine is started you might get lucky and find it before engine gets to hot.

no other symptoms idle seems ok im running out of ideas even thought about hitting it hard as this worked for my nans tv years ago

Ha ha. Yes these kind of problems always frustrating but at least you not suffering from any ill effects it would seem. Check the plugs and do the water spraying test.

will do its gonna wait a few days to calm down then i wll give it a whirl if not the lump hammer i think will suffice.how far away is the head gasket from the exhaust ports

not again said:

will do its gonna wait a few days to calm down then i wll give it a whirl if not the lump hammer i think will suffice.how far away is the head gasket from the exhaust ports

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This picture help?

dont suppose you have a pic of the head showing the exhaust ports do you and thanks for all the help so far

dont supose youve got a pic of the head showing the exhaust ports do you and thanks for all your help so far

Sure. Here it is.

i know im a pain but do have one with the ex ports facing the camera

not again said:

i know im a pain but do have one with the ex ports facing the camera

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Don't think I do. Had a quick look. Check my website out might be on there somewhere, towards end of 2006.
http://www.westfieldbuild.com/

yes you have the exact pic i was after thanks from what i can feel i think its head gasket the missus will be happy with me the weekend oh and by the way nice websit loads of info and well put together thanks for all your help

Glad to be of help. Oh and thanks. Good luck on both counts.

not again said:

yes you have the exact pic i was after thanks from what i can feel i think its head gasket the missus will be happy with me the weekend oh and by the way nice websit loads of info and well put together thanks for all your help

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