Word of mouth is great but we all know we need some concrete here.

 

This has been brought to light here before by a reputable builder who screens 4G64 blocks via sonic testing.

 

That great, doesn't mean it's deemed to no further evaluation as if all castings with that deck height are the same, and then there are the engines that don't have this problem.

 

There is nothing to debate here. It is simply an explanation as to at least one reason why 4G64 builds tend to be more problematic where deck sealing is concerned, and evidently, there are some casting variations.

 

I made over 450ftlbs on an m52 with the monster cometic gaskets. It melted a piston down before it lifted the headgasket(thanks Jordan for leaving it lean in high loads). They push the s52's with figure 8 gaskets to astronomical numbers. I'm not worried about the sealing on this motor at these power levels.

Also, Ted B, I agree the studs are likely overstressed. Shop I've known for years has done them this way and not had problems, I've done many this way and had 0 issues. Luck I guess!