d2stephen

So, I finally finished replacing my head gaskets, and getting everything back together. The shop I brought my heads to told me they cleaned the heads up, and I believe they took .07 thousandths off, I'd have to look for the exact number. Anyways, got everything back together, started the car, and there was a miss, and every now and then i would hear a lifter tick. No big deal I thought, and decided to take the car to a trusted shop and have it looked at, and have them set the lifters right for me, since it was all new to me.
I get a call from them, saying there was still a little coolant coming out of the exhaust, but I figured there would be, since there was probably still some coolant in the cats from when the gasket went.
Well, they ran a block test on the car, multiple times, and said it looks like a blown head gasket, or cracked head. I told them that can't be because I just had the heads resurfaced and changed the gaskets. And was told the last thing it could be is a cracked cylinder wall, if everything else was done right.

So, here are my questions...
My main question is,
Since the heads were plained, should I have went and got a custom gasket, instead of using a stock fel-pro one from advance?
Others,
Could it be a cracked cylinder wall, and if so, I was told about a liquid repair that you can pour in and it will fix it.. What is this stuff called, and is it even worthwhile?
There is a small leak at one of the banjo bolts, would that show up as a leak with their test? I guess they put some tool in there that changes color if there is a leak by reading gas or something, not too sure..

I'm completely lost as to what I should do. I took my time putting everything back together, and made sure to do it right the first time, which doesn't seem has happened.
I don't know if it is worth it to repair all of this, or if I should just replace the motor. I need the car for work, and it has been out of commission since fathers day, given me a huge headache...

RamAir95TA

Incredibly unlikely you have a cracked block.

How did you torque the head bolts and what bolts did you use? Did you use thread sealant on them?

d2stephen

That is what I've been told by multiple people.
I used the correct head bolts that I bought from advance auto, and I did use thread sealant.
I torqued them down using a torque wrench, in the correct sequence, followed everything by the book. Used the haynes manual and shbox's website for the whole thing. Everything I used, I bought new, just in case..

rclearyiii

I know you had the heads shaved a bit to clean them up. Did the shop check the heads for leaks as well?

d2stephen

Yes, pressure tested them and everything. Said there was no cracks and it was all good to go.

rclearyiii

When was your torque wrench last calibrated? you might just want to go back in and give all the bolts another 5 or 10 lbs more using the same wrench you used. I have done that in the past with successful results.

RamAir95TA

Wait, have you actually verified for yourself that there is a blown head gasket? I would get a coolant pressure test kit and run a few tests of your own, including a compression test.

d2stephen

It has been a while, so that very well could be the problem. I'll have to go back and try that.