overheating spider/retorquing the head

["joel lewis" <loosej89@domain.elided>]

Digesti,  I changed out the water pump, thermostat, and hoses, but the
spider was still overheating.  We determined that the "overheating" was
actually excess pressure in the cooling system that was causing the
overflow bottle to fill and the spew coolant all over the engine.  (No
water was ever found on the dipstick or oil in the coolant)  We sadly
concluded that i needed a new head gasket,  but as a last effort tried
retorquing the head.  It worked !!!   All the excess pressure is now
gone and the 30 minute test drive/victory lap was flawless.  The
lingering questions are, do you think this fix will hold or should I
replace the head gasket now anyway ( it is 2 years old)?   Also, how
often should one retorque the head as general maintenance?    Thanks to
Charlie Wright, Ralph Moorehouse, Zack Johnson, and Dean Caines for their
help.Joel Lewishouston'82 spider

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