lister d head gasket not sealing well?

hi all,
i have a lister d, after the first proper run i took the head off to free the oil scraper ring that had got stuck only to find that the head gasket was wet. as far as i could tell no water was going into the piston but there are some white oil lines up the crank case wall. its not in the oil or on anything else though. how tight should the head bolts be? as they were as tight as is i could get them with a normal socket wrench; i heard your not supposed to use a bar when tightening them. both sealing surfaces are nice and clean but not like shiny silver clean. i couldn't see any water seeping out from around the edges when it was running or anything like that.
any help would be good, thanks
Callum

copper head gasket should be greased up around bore and any good surfacces and then if corrodide in water hooper area use a little silicone gasket compound
but the white oil in head top could just be down to sweeting from the castings ,i.e trapped water from the damp weather and then heating the metal with running will cause whiting ,damp oil as the castings and oil sweets the water out again
so maybe not even a gasket issue at all mate if no spotting from exhurst or bubbles in water hooper when engine is warmed up ,but not at full temp as they can bubble anyway from heat
and if no water on piston all sounds to be the sweety engine syndrom as from above mate
kev

thanks lev, i never knew about sweaty engines! it would make sense as it was stored on a shed for 25 years prior to running. there is some pitting around the hopper area so i'll get some silicone gasket sealer. is any grease okay or is there a particular type i should use?

thanks again
callum

callum12 wrote:thanks lev, i never knew about sweaty engines! it would make sense as it was stored on a shed for 25 years prior to running. there is some pitting around the hopper area so i'll get some silicone gasket sealer. is any grease okay or is there a particular type i should use?

thanks again
callum

none specified ,but my dont is graphite grease, just any oil coloured grease will be ok ,and only a smaring over the two faces
as its just to aid the gasket to squash/squaze out and flatten more equalialy to form a better seal as its tightened down 
as tight as poss with a normal socket set  knuckle bar 
kev

use proper RTV sealant.... its designed for engines, and is better than the stuff you get from B&Q. Any car parts place will have it.

thanks for the advice, i have noticed some slight pitting around the bore its self; should i seal this or just put some grease around it? i also noticed some marks on the bore, there is a line all the way around and two circular rings opposite each other. i guess the engine was seized once and it left a mark where the gudgeon pin was and the line was the piston ring. would this cause an issue? the bore does look like it wants a hone anyway so its not too much of a problem if it is an issue.
thanks again
callum

callum12 wrote:hi all,
i have a lister d, after the first proper run i took the head off to free the oil scraper ring that had got stuck only to find that the head gasket was wet. as far as i could tell no water was going into the piston but there are some white oil lines up the crank case wall. its not in the oil or on anything else though. how tight should the head bolts be? as they were as tight as is i could get them with a normal socket wrench; i heard your not supposed to use a bar when tightening them. both sealing surfaces are nice and clean but not like shiny silver clean. i couldn't see any water seeping out from around the edges when it was running or anything like that.
any help would be good, thanks
Callum

I've had the same problem from time to time. I use a drop of Radweld or similar in the hopper when i take it to rallies it usually works & saves stripping it down again. Personally i usually use a light smear of Hylomar Gasket compound on head gaskets. I know it's frowned on by most people but on an old engine surfaces are seldom perfect.( By the way.) One of the big motor companies (no names) used it on their heads when they had trouble with their V4 head gaskets many years ago.I know, i worked for them.(Dont tell anyone  )

was it RR or perkins by any chance ?

matt86 wrote:was it RR or perkins by any chance ?

No, cant tell you the name but it rymes with fraud.