Exhaust gas in the radiator

Byron Warwick

Byron Warwick

Senior Member
I am experiencing some exhaust gasses in the radiator. I suspect it is from the right side of my 8BA engine. what experiences have Barners had like this.
What areas do I look at when I remove the head to change the gasket(s)?
Which of the head bolts go into the exhaust area?
I do not get any water or anti freeze in the exhaust manifold, nor steam/water vapor, in the tail pipe.
Cold season arrives soon so I may wait until spring, but I need your help.
Cheers, Byron.
 
Fill the radiator with water so you can see it good and you can see which side the bubbles are coming from. I would tighten the bolts and add a can of block sealer and see if it stops. G.M.
 
G.M. said:
Fill the radiator with water so you can see it good and you can see which side the bubbles are coming from. I would tighten the bolts and add a can of block sealer and see if it stops. G.M.
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I disagree. Tightening the bolts will spread the crack open wider, and "block sealer" won't keep exhaust from blowing into the cooling system.
 
First thing I would do is a leak-down test on each cylinder and locate the cylinder or area of the block the leak is located in/at.
 
I am reasonably sure it is in the right side.
I want to pull the head to see what I can, but have not yet found a source of gaskets. I've heard of Best but where to get them? I will try in Port Huron MI, not available in Ontario.
I have tried Iron Tight, but no help.
Byron.
 
Byron Warwick said:
I am reasonably sure it is in the right side.
I want to pull the head to see what I can, but have not yet found a source of gaskets. I've heard of Best but where to get them? I will try in Port Huron MI, not available in Ontario.
I have tried Iron Tight, but no help.
Byron.
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Yes, you have a great Ontario supplier of Best gaskets: Al Lambert of Gasket City in Hamilton Ontario. 1-800-335-4686. alambert@gasketcity.com
Ted
 
Byron Warwick said:
I am reasonably sure it is in the right side.
I want to pull the head to see what I can, but have not yet found a source of gaskets. I've heard of Best but where to get them? I will try in Port Huron MI, not available in Ontario.
I have tried Iron Tight, but no help.
Byron.
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Why pull a head until your sure what your dealing with?
 
I know that when running even at my regular 170 to 180 deg temp, that when I stop the antifreeze is foaming enough to run out the overflow. Recently, I left it running and the temp rose to 200+ deg, and the coolant was boiling vigorously and coming from the Right side.
I have expected this for some years and I usually run only water in the summer, so I don't lose coolant. I am a driveway repairer, and don't have access to the test equipment JSeery mentioned. I'm just trying to get some experienced answers/or guesses . Byron.
 
call around to local autoparts stores. here in new england we have autozone which will let you rent a tool for free with a credit card to hold it. just get a leakdown tester and find the bad cylinder. even a compression tester should tell you the bad cylinder.



I've had this happen before and it wasn't a head gasket. I thought it was, until I pulled the head. just to be safe, i pressure tested my block and found an exhaust port on each side of the motor was leaking exhaust pressure into the coolant. block had frozen long ago and actually had about 30" of weld in the pan rail.
 
My concern would be being able to ID where the leak might be after pulling the head. It may or may not be obvious to the eye.
 
I read recently, that if you have exhaust gasses in the coolant, to change the head gasket.
Yesterday I brought Merlot home and ran the engine at idle . There were bubbles coming from the RHS cylinder bank. I kept it going until it was a rolling boil, and then measured the temperatures of the outside of the heads with my Laser gauge.
The right bank was running 210 to 214 Deg F, and the left bank was 10 Deg less or more.
Now what to think; first thought is right water pump is not as efficient as the LHS, and not pumping enough coolant to keep the temp in line. When running on the road the normal operating temp is 170 to 180 degrees.
Any more ideas from the Barners?
Thanks, Byron.
 
I believe because the center exhaust port on the block services 2 cylinders on each side, the center part of the block up by the ex valves gets hotter then either end and that is why most (not all) of the ex valve pocket and deck cracks are in the center 2 cylinders, either side.
If this was my engine I would pull the head and if no cracks are found, cross my fingers and put a new head gasket on and see if the problem goes away. Cast iron heads torque hot, aluminum heads torque cold and retorque after hot cold cycles at least 3 times until the nuts or bolts quit moving. Good luck and keep us informed.
 
Thanks for all your responses. I will try the Look for something after pulling the RHS head.
Still have to order the gasket. I may not get to it until Spring, when I can leave it for a time after opening. In case I have to shave the head. Winter approaches, and we have had hail yesterday, and I will have to complete my winterizing, before they close the garage. Cheers, Byron.
 
deuce_roadster said:
Cast iron heads torque hot, aluminum heads torque cold and retorque after hot cold cycles at least 3 times until the nuts or bolts quit moving.
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I have never heard on any engine head torque specification calling for a head bolt/nut being torqued hot. Do you have a reference for that?
 
Byron, I've read your posts and the responses but am still a bit confused. How did you determine that you had exhaust gas in the radiator? I have a plastic bottle at the end of my overflow tube and, although it doesn't spit out any coolant, it does make a lot of "glug, glug" noises after a good run. Is that normal or maybe a sign of exhaust in the radiator?
Thanks, Doug.
 
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