Posted by Steve Kanavas on August 28, 1999 at 14:04:01:
In Reply to: lost compression mystery posted by Drew on August 26, 1999 at 16:18:57:
Those gaskets are pretty thick. Thermal cycling on the engine tends to crush the gasket a bit as the block and head expand from heat. Eventually the gasket will be crushed a bit, therefore not actually being clamped by the head as much as when you installed it. Give her about 10 heat cycles, start, full temp, and cool down, and retorque it. It's cheap insurance. You may be surprised how much farther the bolts tighten on the retorque..
sak