Oil leaking around head gasket - retorque or replace?

As some of you may recall my water pump decided to eat itself last spring. Once I saw the crap that was in the pump I elected to pull the head to clean the water passages as much as possible and to get a general look at the condition of the top end of the engine. While the head was off I made sure to chase all bolt holes to get the crud out so I would have accurate readings with the torque wrench.

Since I've re-installed the head the engine has been leaking oil. I haven't been able to figure out where until now. At first I thought it was the valve cover gasket as oil was coating the cylinder head as well as the block. I replaced the valve cover gasket (again) this summer, resulting in no change in the leakage.

I happened to need to pull the Mustang out of the shed this week to look for some halloween decorations. While I had the car out and idling I decided to take another look. I revved the engine using the gas pedal linkage and observed. What I saw was oil weeping out the front and then get blown back my the fan, which would explain why oil has been getting up on the cylinder head.

My question is do I have to chuck the gasket and start from scratch or would going over the head with the torque wrench again be of any benefit?

you can try retorquing the head gasket and see if the leak stops. sometimes it will. if not then its time to replace the head gasket again. if you used a steel shim gasket, then make sure you use a good sealer, like spray on copper coat, on the gasket, and make sure the gasket surfaces are clean and flat.

I wish I had access to some steel shim gaskets. No, I think this was a Fel Pro.

I finally got around to retorquing the head. It was weird - the passenger side didn't need anything. The torque wrench clicked on every bolt right away. Driver side every bolt needed more torque. I can't tell you how much because I have one of those new torque wrenches where you set the value and then pull until it clicks. Anyways, head still leaks. I'm putting the car away for the winter at this point. I'll deal with it in the spring. I'm thinking about upgrading the head when I replace the gasket.