Head Gasket Replacement Question

R

Ricks56

Member
I'm getting ready to replace the right side head gasket on my '56 Fairlane. It is supposed to be a 312 (I'll measure the bore after I get the head off).

The car has a history from the previous owner of some overheating and from what I have read on this forum, it looks like the head gasket was installed wrong (motor was supposed to have been rebuilt in 2012). The tab on the gasket is not in the front (the left side is ok).

Anyway, the Ford shop manual says to coat the head bolt threads with water resistant sealer. I assume some of the bolts protrude into a water passage? I have heard of oil/no oil on the bolts to aid in torqueing but not using a sealer. Which is correct?

Anything else I should be careful of? I know about the different head bolt lengths. I'm using FelPro gaskets for the head, intake and exhaust manifolds. The head gasket is the 7999PT and I believe it goes on dry with no sealers as well as the other gaskets.

I will also be continuing my investigation into the lack of oil to the rocker arm on this side. I am pretty sure that the cam bearing was not installed properly back in '12. I have already put a NOS oiler kit on this side as I do not want to tear the motor down right away.

Thanks!
 
When the head is off, spin the motor with the starter and see if oil comes out the oil hole. If it does, your oiling trouble is in the rocker arm shaft area. Read the instructions in the gasket package. On some early 312's, there are coolant (steam) holes to drill. Dont let that scare you, they are easy to locate and easy to drill. I use oil on the threads and under the heads of the bolts.
 
If your not 100% sure if it's a 312 or not, when you have the head off, check the stroke too. It's possible to bore a 292 to a 312 bore, so that's not a sure indication of being a 312. I believe the 312 stroke is 3.44" and a 292 is 3.30".

Sal
 
it takes less torque to tighten the head bolts if you use oil, check to see if the head is warped before you put it back on, I use silver or copper spray paint, sprayed on head gaskets, both sides, before I install heads
 
Thanks for the replies; I still need to know if the head bolt threads need water proof sealant as per the shop manual.
 
Ricks56 said:
Thanks for the replies; I still need to know if the head bolt threads need water proof sealant as per the shop manual.
Click to expand...

I use them where bolts pass through the water jacket. On Fords, I'm not sure which ones those are, maybe someone has a manual page that shows them. Permatex makes a good sealer.
 
None of the head bolts on a Y-block go into the water passages.Don't put sealer on them as it will interfere with accurate torque settings.A couple of the intake manifold bolts at the front on each side need sealer as they go into the water passage.
 
While steam holes may be required on those vehicles with a low radiator (1960-1962 Fords), they are not necessary on those vehicles with a tall radiator such as on the '54-59 Fords and trucks. The steam holes are simply there to bleed any potential air from the block when the coolant gets low. If the coolant is not kept in good condition, those existing 'steam' holes get plugged very easily anyhow.

Other than removing the potential for an air pocket at the center of the block, there is no additional engine cooling related to the holes actually being there. I go out of my way to simply plug the steam holes in the blocks that do have them. This operation is done before any boring or block decking is performed. Most heads I use for Y builds simply do not have the corresponding steam holes which makes it redundant to actually install the holes in the blocks. If you need pictures of heads with cracks running through the steam holes, I have them.
 
Thanks for clarifying the steam hole issue Ted.

I have decided to hold off on pulling the head until I can get some miles on the car and see for myself if it has any over heating issues. I drove it a bit last fall and didn't really see any problems. Seems to run around 180 or so. I have already put a top oiler on the one side and it seems to be working fine. As I said, I don't really want to tear it down until I have to.
 
you are probably right to hold off after reading Ted's post on steam holes and your not having noticed overheating I think you would have created a lot of work for no gain.good luck now drive it
 
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