problem

[JET]

Sounds like Mike was right, you probably have bent exhaust valves. It could be bad seals too.

[john]

New seals were installed. I have no idea how the damn valves got bent. I bolted the head down with each piston at mid stroke, the timing was set right, and the head was checked before for bad valves as it came off a car I got with the timing off a couple of teeth....

[A//// Guy]

So after the car quit while tuning you didnt check to see if timing was off? If it was that is how your valves are bent. My car skipped 2 teeth last year and it still ran but I could hear metal hitting while it was running. I got lucky and there was no damage, just knicks. I didnt take the head off (boroscope). I just redid the timing belt with a new one and that worked.

[LightningGSX]

So after the car quit while tuning you didnt check to see if timing was off? If it was that is how your valves are bent. My car skipped 2 teeth last year and it still ran but I could hear metal hitting while it was running. I got lucky and there was no damage, just knicks. I didnt take the head off (boroscope). I just redid the timing belt with a new one and that worked.They put a rebuilt head on after the original tuning incident

[john]

They put a rebuilt head on after the original tuning incident

Yep. The problem was not tuning related. A sensor gave out (CAS or somthing). Car just had no spark. To replace the crank or cam sensor, the cam would need to come off or the lower timing cover would need to come off. That justified pulling the head, ARPs, new HG, 1g head, etc.

[john]

Head is off. There are still no indentations on the pistons. BTW, adding oil to the cylinders did not help compression before. I could not get over 50 psi compression in the only cylinder I tested (#4).

[LightningGSX]

Before you put it back together, get yourself a new torque wrench, its probably way off.You can't store those with the spring wound, you need to turn it back to zero or below.Like I told your brother when I was there, I wouldn't be surprised if the head just wasn't torqued down correctly or maybe it warped from being incorrectly torqued.

[john]

No, there would not have been enough heat to do anything to the head. The HG was/is fine. The leakdown test confirmed that the HG did not leak. I plan on getting another TQ wrench anyhow to replace the POS I have. I always torque the head studs to 105 with ARP lube to assure I am torquing them tight enough. I also stood there and made sure he torqued them in the correct sequence (60ft lbs first then to 105). HG was not a problem but the torque wrench is on order right now and I should get it in at work today :)

[LightningGSX]

Heat is not the only thing that can warp a head.

[Raptor]

You don't need to go to 105 on the head studs. On motors that are not torque plated to that spec, you are making an OOR condition with the cylinder. We typically have them torque plated at 100 and of course set them to that when building them. The ARP studs will stretch at not much above 105. Pistons usually prefer round holes. That of course has nothing to do with the problems you are dealing with, just something to think about for future reference.