Triumph Repair: Coolant leaking into cylinders, radiator pressure tester, head gasket leak

Question
I have a 1979 Spitfire that recently had a stuck #3 exhaust Valve.  Removed the head and took it to a machine shop to be checked out...all good.  Re-installed the head, water pump, rockers, manifold, etc using all new gaskets.  Once put back together I had the valves adjusted.  However, now I'm getting coolant into the cylinders.  It is not leaking into the oilpan...oil is clear..not milky.  Only thing I can think of is it is being sucked in through the manifold somehow.  Any recommendations/suggestions.

Thanks,

Scott

Answer
Hi Scott,
The standard procedure for this kind of problem is to pull all four plugs and put a radiator pressure tester on the system and watch which cylinder gets coolant in it. If you don't have a pressure tester or can't borrow one, you may be able to just run the car until it is up to temperature and shut the engine off and remove all the plugs right away. and let it sit until it cools then spin the engine (keeping out of the way of the plug holes) This will confirm that coolant is getting into a combustion chamber. Even though a crack in the intake manifold is possible, it is less likely. The most likely is a leak at the head gasket. There are several tests for a head gasket leak. A first simple one is to remove the radiator cap and start the engine. A badly leaking head gasket will immediately blow coolant out of the cap. A more mild leak can be easily checked with a dye that can be purchased at most any auto parts store that will change color if combustion leakage is getting back into the coolant. If you have compressed air available you can also purchase a fitting to screw into a plug hole that will accept an air hose and you just put that piston at TDC with the trans in high gear and the brake on and the radiator full and cap off. when the air is applied, if there is even a slight leak in the gasket or even a crack in the head or block, you will see the coolant rise in the radiator.

Did you have the head pressure tested or checked for needing to be resurfaced when the valve work was done? Did you use the recommended torque on the head? (46 ft lbs). When you put the new head gasket on are you sure you did not put the gasket on upside down? (Even though many manufactures now claim their head gaskets don't need to have a second torque, I found it to be a good practice to retorque in 300 to 500 mi. and always stone cold.)
Let me know.
Howard