It was my decision to use the Permatex copper head gasket spray adhesive. Before he tore his heads off, there was black motor oil running down the sides of the block at the head gasket joint, so it was an attempt by me to get an old engine to seal better. I did not know at that time that he did not re-torque the head gaskets when he replaced them prior. I did several coats on both sides of the gasket and let them dry, then did a final coat and installed them wet to really try and glue it together. He did re-torque the heads after a small amount of driving this time. I also don't think the copper spray hurt, as it is not leaking oil down the outside now at the head to block junction, like it was, or at least that part was resolved. I still suspect the pistons/rings he installed. The pistons were so bright and shiny they almost looked like chrome. They seemed spun off a lathe, and not just cast, which tells me they may have been prototypes that were supposed to be in the dumpster, not sold. 1 of the 6 they sent did not match at first. All of them have 1 or 2 less rings than what manuals show for most of this engine in the majority of its applications. They have 3 rings, none at the base, and manuals show 4 or 5 rings, with one even having a ring below the wrist pin. His pistons just have 3 rings, all above the wrist pin, and one is the oil control ring, plus 2 compression rings, same as a gasoline engine (350 Chev for example). I don't think (?) that is enough to hold back diesel engine compression and combustion pressure. He also does not know his boost level. He has the fuel screw turned up and does not over-temp it via an EGT, but he is running a 15psi boost gauge that quickly gets pegged when he lays into it. That means, nobody knows how much boost he is running on an engine which was designed for not more than a few psi, like 5 or so, just to clear up the exhaust. His old pistons had cracked rings on 4-5 cylinders, which should not happen even if old. These new piston rings may be cracked from too much combustion pressure (too much fuel and boost). Not sure how robust the ring packs are in these engines, but even when Ford added a turbo to their 2.3L OHC engine in the 80's, they developed different piston rings for it. I hope it is just the copper spray, as that is an easy fix. I think at this point, he should measure the new liners, use them if in spec, and re-ring his old pistons.
