offset head gasket?

[luvda2ndgenteg]

ok so i rebuilt my motor and dropped a dowel pin out of the head so i put it all back together and it ran ok for 550 miles then started flooding cylinders with oil/coolent so i took my head off put back in dowel pin put in new head gasket and it started right up do you think that dowel not being there was the problem? or could it be something else? like maybe my thermastate was shut closed my brother said im just asking to double check because i dont wanna break down in the middle of town again lol how embarressing!! and like 20 friends saw me but i hope the dowel pin and new head gasket was all my problem

 

[00DC2TW]

let me get this straight, you re-used a head gasket after you already torqued down everything, and then you took it all off and used it again? There's a reason engines use dowel pin, why would you just put the engine back together without it? Your thermostat would not make oil and coolant into the cylinders

 

[luvda2ndgenteg]

no i definitly used a new head gasket the old one wasnt any good and i know i should have put the dowel in in the first place but i forgot it had fell out then wheni saw i was having head hasket problems i quickly remembered so this time i did put it in

i was just asking if there could be another problem as a preventative measure but after thinking about it im almost positive its gonna be fine now just thought i would ask for suggestions so i dont have a break down problem again

 

[mirrorimg]

The dowel pin keeps the gasket aligned with the block and the head. Without it, the gasket can "wander."