Head Gaskets....

barnstuf said:
In my youth we did not know what a torque wrench was and the copper/asbestos head gaskets called for a soak in shallow water in the bath tub, then cover both sides of the gasket with chassis grease and install. A blown head gasket was almost never heard of years ago.
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There were torque wrenches around, way back when. Just never had the $ , knowledge and/or inclination to have/use one.

I'll say this , about any comments about whether to use a torque wrench and/or whether it is necessary to even use....

IMO, and experience ...BTW(before torque wrench days :)), I'd just crank the nuts/studs down until they cried uncle....or broke !
Otherwise, no real rhyme or reason about how went about the job.
Yeah, the head gaskets were made much better fit/finish than those we have to put up with now. So, even with cave man approach, I hardly can remember any such blow out problems. Low CR on the old flatheads , most likely, helped with my success. I did the water soak/grease thing as an old timer advised then.

Now , ATW acquisition, I found that proper use and sequential torqueing....even with crummy fit gaskets...I haven't had a blow out of head gasket in a long time. I've used 8:1 and presently 7:1 and 6:1 with no problems. WHY ? Because proper torqueing nut/bolt sequence and as often as necessary to bring the newly installed head gasket to HOLD the desired torque....be it 55 or 65. Your results may vary, eh ;)

BTW...I have this idea that a lot of head gaskets 'move around' when being installed and are NOT in the perfect position when the head clamps down.
 
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Yes grease allows for the gasket to move as it is tightened down. Which is why you need the sealer you use to be tacky not dried. It allows for squash. Do it all the time on T gaskets, as well as reuse old gaskets. Might be that as the engine fires, the grease is burnt around the fire ring and helps seal too.
 
All this talk of slippage makes one wonder if a spray of Slip-Plate or similar graphite coating might be of use. My dad always used the aluminum paint spray method and cautioned that the head be placed and torqued before the pain dried so it could "settle into place".
 
I don't know the science or logic behind it, but my two older brothers were aircraft mechanics and that's what they said to do, so we did it, as a snot nosed teenager I didn't question their wisdom, I just did it. Whether it helped or not I have no idea, at least it didn't seem to hurt anything.
 
Many Model A Ford parts vendors sold the copper asbestos head gaskets through the 1980's.
I always soaked them in water ,over night before installing them and never had a gasket leak.
 
I'm running a 6.0 Snyder head on my 31 Coupe. The rebuilder installed the modern composition gasket and torqued to 65 ft/lbs. I have 2000 miles on the engine now with no issues. I plan to drive it from Salt Lake City to Reno in June for the National MAFCA convention. I've re-torqued the head to 65 ft/lbs once since installing the engine. I even badly overheated the engine on a tour due to a leaky water pump. Still, no head gasket issues.

Where do you see the fail in the head gaskets you remove? Is it always in the same place? What other clues can you offer to help us think about the causes of your trouble?
 
I think a lot of the trouble reported on these gaskets is due to improper installation. You must follow the directions exactly.
 
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