what can cause a blown head gasket. i'm leaking oil from around that area and the dealer thinks it's a blown head gasket. what can possibly cause this.

 

There are afew diferent things that can cause this. Don't worry about that, this gives you a reason to do some head work...

 

like what? i already have ARP bolts when i got the cams installed back in spring

 

Well, you can get an aftermarket head gasket, valves, valve springs and retainers.

 

one of the main causes is installing ARP hardware without pulling the head and installing a new gasket during the installation. The other main cause is detonation.

 

one of your studs might have came loose or they weren't done correctly the first time.

 

leaking oil doesnt mean a bad headgaske off the bat...check a few things first...the dip stick is your first answer...is it a chocolate textured or is it still oil...chocolate colored would mean that you have a mix of oil and anitfreeze...the second thing you could look for is the color smoke coming from your exhaust, while at idle or crusing...white=antifreez,blue means oil...
--but what were you doing before this happen?
--some arp bolts are known to come lose and may need to be retorqued!!!

 

oil in the dipstick doesn't show any signs of coolant mix. The exhaust smoke color is fine....it's white in the morning, when i'm warming up the car, but the color looks normal like every other car in the morning when it's cold out.

that's the strangest part...i don't have an answer to...been driving the car back and forth from work...i do get on it at times, but nothing fancy. I went to get the oil changed and the dealer said i have a blown HG as there's oil all around that area.

 

if u have a blown head gaske it should be pushing coolant.

 

I'll go out and check the radiator and the overflow tank for oil. will check the dip stick again. but if it's not a blown headgastket then why is there oil around that area?

 

check ur coolant level

 

could also be a cam seal leaking or the valve cover gasket leaking. Those are cheap and easy fixes. I hope that's it instead of the head gasket.

 

What did you have them torqued to? ARP says 75 ft pds, but I still lifted my head after this, so when I pulled the head and put a new gasket in I torqued them to 85 ft pds and have had no problems since, even running 37 psi at 8500 rpm.

 

^+1...the seal of the head gasket maybe broken and thats why its leaking oil...but where exactly is oil coming from?

 

i know this is kinda off topic.... but you went there with your mods and they did not say anything. just wondering because i need to get an oil change soon and i have no time to do it myself because of school and work. and i am kinda afraid of them voiding my waranty with my mods.