[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by spareparts

use no sealer on the head gaskets

I have always used a brush on type sealer around the outer edge to reduce salt creep. I like the black PERMATEX aviation grade brush on sealer myself. Silicone would be a no no on a regular head gasket. As for the original problem, it sounds like an odd one to me. I thought I remember you saying you had good compression that was even across the board. Normally major engine problems would show some wide variances across the board unless all of your rings collapsed at the same time(not very likely). I think a leakdown test is in order for your engine to make sure what the problem is.