Head gasket leak assistance.

[RalphM]

Helping a friend out with a model T. I don’t have a lot of experience with these things.
A little history, the car was bought with a “rebuilt engine”.
About a year ago, the owner and some Helpers put a new copper headgasket on because it was leaking.
About a month ago, the car would not start and he asked my assistance and looking at it. After cranking antifreeze poured out the carburetor. We finally got around to pulling the head off today and this is what I found.
Antifreeze in cylinders three and four, one and two looked fine. There is a small crack in the center of the head between the large water jacket and the head bolt. But I don’t see anything between cylinders three and four where the antifreeze was.
Is this crack something to worry about?

What is the best type of head gasket to use to replace this with?

Also, I will need torque sequence and values for this as well.
Thank you

 

[RalphM]

Here’s the engine block after I cleaned it up.

 

[stevests]

What year is the engine ? Some blocks have been known to crack in the valve chamber - you might want to remove the valve cover & look into the chamber for signs of coolant in there. I prefer Copper head gaskets w/a generous coating of copper coat spray. The head bolt hole that has the crack projecting into can be sealed with nylon sealant when installing. Is the head iron or aluminum ?

 

[RalphM]

1927 car,
Not sure if the block is same year. The coolant was very clean when drained out of the radiator.But there was coolant in the oil, clean when first draining, but then milky.
Thanks for the information, I will check the lifter/valve area. Looks like I have to remove the intake and exhaust manifolds first?
Oh, and the head is iron.

 

[rotorwrench]

If coolant gets into any cylinders, it will find it's way through the piston rings. If the head or deck has notable warpage, it should be addressed. This is stuff that should have been checked at overhaul but some folks have a different definition of the term. It makes a person question what was actually done in said overhaul. Sealing that one bolt, as previously mentioned, should insure that coolant won't try to leak out around the bolt or head boss.

Copper Coat or even a good coating of any aluminum or copper pigmented rattle can enamel paint is a good sealer for a quality copper head gasket. I hang the gasket from a wire and apply the paint on both sides after prepping for final installation then carefully place the new gasket on the deck while it is still soft. It helps to have a couple of studs or bolts with no heads to align the gasket and keep it that way till all bolts are in. Torque the head bolts in stages with the common pattern from the center out. Let it set that way for a long enough period to allow for the paint to dry before filling the cooling system. Run the engine per normal break in and heat soak then perform re-torque to specs. I perform heat soak and retorque actions until the fasteners quit turning during torque checks. It doesn't hurt to recheck after a month or two for assurance that torque is maintained. Just don't loosen them for any reason unless it leaks again.

I don't know on the model T engines but Model A engines have not responded well to the "modern" silicone composition head gaskets. There are steel ones too but I have always preferred the copper sandwich type head gaskets with fire rings. Copper is soft when annealed and form fits very well. Steel, not so much. I don't even want to get into those silicone embedded types. They work OK for sealing in lubricants for the most part but they don't do well with pressure at all.

 

[stevests]

I was taught to re-torque after cool-down and after several operating temp. then cool-down cycles. I don't torque over 45 lbs. on an iron head - cast iron block threads are a weak spot.

 

[RalphM]

Update, I got a call from the machine shop that I dropped the head off to. They said there are cracks in the combustion chambers. Definitely in number three, but I have not picked it up yet.
Can those copperhead gaskets be reused? If you clean them and recoat them with spray?

 

[J Franklin]

Copper head gaskets were generally reused if not damaged, your call. Otherwise it makes a great wall hanger in the garage.

 

[rotorwrench]

If it's 100% copper, it can be annealed. Copper has to be heated red hot and quenched in water to annealed it. Doing nothing but cleaning might work if it's a sandwich type but I don't like to redo things. A gasket is cheap compared to extra work. The old sandwich types had white asbestos matting in it. Modern ones may be some black or white heat resistant material in the sandwich. They don't take to annealing. Steel types should be replaced.

 

[Dodge]

I've had good luck re-using the copper gasket like you have. I have taken red scotch brite and some acetone and cleaned the gasket. Then spray it with copper coat.
Don't forget to retorque the head after running the motor a few time until the bolts stop moving'

 

[RalphM]

Thank you all! Still trying to locate another cyl head. I have a good lead, but I’m waiting for them to get back in the state. Of course I will need to have the replacement checked out for any issues.

 

[J Franklin]

A good stock cylinder head should be easy to find since many people have replaced them with accessory high compression heads. You could also try a high compression if you are so inclined.