deck or head is warped, cracked head or the surfaces are not clean when you installed the head gasket. You are using a torque wrench and following the correct sequence...yes?

 

yea tourqed it all to 58 foot pounds in the correct order. i have a factory rebuild manual thats 4000 pages on everything. and it said 58 ft/lbs from inside to outside in the correct sequence.

did all that. why would it be warped? has never over heated. and im hoping it isnt cracked. it has less than 10,000 miles on it.
when i pulled the head off i didnt notice any cracks in the gasket. or in the head. infact the gasket looked pretty good.
and as for the head i just quickly glanced over it and didnt see any.

cleaned all the major stuff off but didnt put alot of time into it.

you think a little gunk if i missed it would cause this tho?

and no. it wasnt 100% clean.

 

Heads can warp even if they are not overheated. Inclusions in castings can cause this and cracks can happen. if a head is not tourqed properly it can warp over time.
In order to trouble shoot this, the first thing is to get the head checked for warp. If it is, then if its within spec you can have it milled. But I know that there is the rare instance of a crack. It usually happens in the waterjacket around the exhaust port of head. Generally it can be detected just by the naked eye if it has been a progressive problem. And it will normaly be behind the guide of the valve.
But to really get the truth...magna flux. the head is cleaned and diped in a solution that glows with ultraviolite light, usually with heat. the head is cleaned and then inspected.
But enough of the sicence lesson.

yes, a little gunk can do it. You should clean the deck and head surface with scotch brite and acetone prior to installation. Use carb cleaner to flush out the threads in the block and use a shop vac to suck all the crap out so you can tourqe the head properly.
use the acetone last to make sure the deck and head surface are free of oil. i would also get new head bolts at this point, and make sure my tourqe wrench was working properally. And be very clean with the installation.
Thats what I would do...and did with my 94 4x4.

 

well no visual cracks. 1 machinest, and 2 mechanics looked over it. said it looked really good actually.

machinest is gonna check it for warpage today for free since im a family friend.
which is also nice becuase i know he wouldnt lie about it. so he is reputable

if not warped. guess ill get it magna fluxed. any idea on cost for this for a lil 4 cyld. head?

 

But they did not check with a straight edge and feeler gauge? Thats the very first thing to do. Make sure the surface is VERY clean.

Not sure in your area. Generally the head is stripped first of valves etc. Then cleaned really well than diped in the solution.
So you might consider a valve job if you are that deep into the head. or at least a light lap of the valves to clean them up a little.
But I would shop around. a speed shop will likely charge more than a crank um out machine shop.
You could strip the head your self, if you are careful to make sure and number the valves so they are not put back into the wrong cylinders. That might save a few bucks.

 

well for those of ya paying attention to this. and those of you who arent. when you replace a head gasket...... replace the damn intake gasket too.

machinest looked over the head and said it was in great condition.

head gaskets looked fine. so i started thinking cracked block between water and oil passages... nope still wrong.

so whats the last thing i look at today....

the damn intake gasket. yea it was torn up a lil from pullin it apart from the head.

but just think of it...
heads fine, head asket is good. all tourqed down right...
water into the cylinders... well the intake carrys both water and air passages.

is any body following this or have i just gone completely yota-tarded?

 

I can see it. I usually put a light coat of silicone on that both sides of that gasket. Feels good to have figured it out? You will be up and running soon

 

Ahhhh...yes, never reuse a gasket.
You are correct about the intake gasket at the head. it is possable the gasket is leaking from the water jacked to an intake. But I assumed you removed the intake to do the work. One other thing. Make sure the support under the intake is bolted down. The intake is quite heavy and can crack if that support is not in place. It can also stress the intake studs in the head.