Leakage around the head gasket

Redbird

Redbird

Well-known member
Went out for a spin Sunday and after the cart sat overnight, there was a little leakage where the head meets the block. Should I retorque the head nuts while warm? 55-60 ft lbs?
 
It took several times putting some miles on the motor, then letting it cool, then retorquing to finally get the head bolts to stabalize after a head gasket install.
In other words followup on this retorquing until the head nuts no longer loosen.
 
Torque sequence
 

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Is it a HIGH COMPRESSION HEAD or a stock head? HC might be 60 lb-ft. Be VERY CAREFUL doing the gooseneck. Do, maybe two pounds at a time between them.
 
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At the engine building seminar at the MARC National at Niagara Falls, Rich Fallucca recommended a half tube of copper or aluminum radiator sealer to eliminate the "lace" that streaks down the block below the head gasket. He said the streaks are not harmful, just ugly. Wipe 'em off.
I took his advice -- one tube did two engines (easy math) -- and the streaks have not reappeared in the last 1,000 miles of highway driving.
 
Rich Fallucca recommended a half tube of copper or aluminum radiator sealer.
I took his advice -- one tube did two engines (easy math)
Click to expand...

Are you saying to coat the head gasket w/radiator sealer? Is the sealer in a tube thick like gel? Or?
 
katy said:
Are you saying to coat the head gasket w/radiator sealer? Is the sealer in a tube thick like gel? Or?
Click to expand...

"radiator" sealer, eh ...as he stated :) ! I suppose that this treatment is to stop water/coolant from seeping thru head gasket and down side of block as...'lace' ? Lace as in no longer rust ..go figure.
IMO, just use copper coat on both sides of head gasket, with proper torqueing, and accomplish same same ?
 
What the heck is "technician in a can"? I tried Google but even that usual find-all didn't give an answer.

Bruce, I'm trying to understand what you "clearly stated". Radiator sealer that I'm familiar with is a liquid, so I don't see how that could be effectively used on a head gasket, methinks it would just run off.
 
"technician in a can"
It's like using sawdust or cut up banana peels in you car, but then again...I remember the 50's
 
katy said:
What the heck is "technician in a can"? I tried Google but even that usual find-all didn't give an answer.

Bruce, I'm trying to understand what you "clearly stated". Radiator sealer that I'm familiar with is a liquid, so I don't see how that could be effectively used on a head gasket, methinks it would just run off.
Click to expand...

Using a radiator sealer should seal up any small seeping from gaskets or pin holes in the radiator. Many new cars come from the factory with some sealer installed. Some sealers are liquid, some are powder, and some are pill or cube form. My 28 has the original radiator and had a damp spot on the upper right of the front of the radiator. I used a radiator sealer, and that damp spot dried up and never came back. This was at least 15 years ago.

Technician in a can = mechanic in a can, or in other words hoping for the easy way out to fix a mechanical problem. Not all fixes in a can perform as advertised. I have had good luck with Sea Foam and the radiator sealer I used. Wish I could recall which sealer it was.
 
Technician In A Can is SYNONOMOUS, (sp?) with SNAKE OIL, which may be POISONOUS????--Chief called such stuff, "PANTHER PISS"!!
Bill W.
 
katy said:
What the heck is "technician in a can"? I tried Google but even that usual find-all didn't give an answer.

Bruce, I'm trying to understand what you "clearly stated". Radiator sealer that I'm familiar with is a liquid, so I don't see how that could be effectively used on a head gasket, methinks it would just run off.
Click to expand...

Evidently some of the experts on this board do not think radiator sealers work, hence the cute jab, "technician in a can."

I was reporting to you a remedy to the white streaks that appear below the head gasket on newly rebuilt and painted Model A engines (that get driven). It was suggested by a guy who is responsible for many of the new rebuilds in our hobby and almost all the insert bearings/rods/and soon, pistons. The radiator sealer is powdered and comes in several varieties. Rich recommended either copper or aluminum. Then he said that he "liked" aluminum.

The sealer comes in a tube. It looks like gold ... or silver ... flakes. You dump it in your radiator and go for a drive. Like Tom suggested, it "finds" the leaky places in your radiator and remedies them. In its swoosh through your cooling system, the sealer courses through the block and head, too. That's where it deals with those pesky head gasket leaks and vanquishes the white streaks.

Or not. Unless you try it, you'll never know.

A Model A friend of mine who now drives on streets of gold was sure that a couple raw eggs would do the same job. I never tried that cure.
 
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