Tom,

I don't like the sound of it. I hate to disagree with Marshall on this, but, my 617 does the same thing as yours, to a lesser degree. It shows no sign of oil in the coolant and no sign of coolant in the oil. It loses more than a pint of coolant every 1000 miles. It never runs above 90 degrees except when the a/c is on or if it is under an extended load.

My best advice, and the final determination of whether the head gasket is history: Get an oil analysis for $15. Then you will know.


With regard to the retorquing of the head bolts, I was thinking about doing the same thing myself. However, I was going to purchase a new set of bolts to do it. But, after thinking about the work necessary to get to all the bolts (cam must be removed) and the risk of failure (no improvement), my thoughts have shifted to removing the head.

If you decide to do the bolts, please let me know the details and the result!!!

The 12 point heads are no issue. You just need a special "double hex" socket bit for them.