Motor back together - strange noise????

[DZEE'S LX]

Just a quick note to say thanks guys!

It was the header gasket. Took the header off tonight and there it was biggern sh*t. The leak was at both of the end bolts where the gasket was thinner. I had trimmed the gasket a little in those areas to match the ports in the heads (seemed like a good idea at the time) but neglected to worry about the header bolts. The bolt holes were also slotted a bit (used headers), probably to allow bolt installation after the tubes had moved a little from expansion/cooling etc. You can see where the exhaust made it past the gasket and out past the bolt especially at cyl 5. The rest of the gasket looked evenly compressed and got good sealing. Got new gaskets and these have wider areas around the holes and ports. Should work well.

Thanks again for the tips. Drudis & Fiveohpatrol nailed this one!Also, the stethascope/heater hose trick worked amazingly well!

Dan