Replacing water neck

bluesman31

bluesman31

Senior Member
I am replacing my upper water goose neck as part of my cooling system flush and redo, and it came with paper gaskets.

Am I better off going with copper gasket and sealant, or just sealant to prevent cracking?

Second question is do I need to do some form of tourqe sequence, and if so exactly what?

Thanks a bunch! :D
 


Hey Bluesman,


Don't use the thick paper gasket. It's a diasture waiting to happen... Use a paperbag thickness gasket, the copper type, or just silicone..& torque it up too 55 lbs evenly



Using the water outlet for full head torque wasn't a great idea..Ford got rid of it on the "B" engine...The copper "original type" has the crush ring's on it...for a reason


Greg out West,
 
Flatten the gasket surface with sand paper stuck to a piece of plate glass, move in a figure 8 pattern until it has 100% contact, all the bottom is the same color. Install using rtv sealant, this works for me. What breaks the ears off is that the base is not flat and the ears are flexed during torquing. If the bottom is flat you can use full torque with rtv and it will not break.
 
I although not an experienced "A"er, have made that mistake. In my case I used the paper gasket, with apparent success, until, the neck broke two weeks later when the vehicle was just sitting in the garage. I vote for RTV on good and flat surfaces, no gasket at all.
 
I used the paper gasket with no problems but I used the paper match trick. Put a paper match between the surfaces on the outside of the studs under the ears to prevent them from breaking. Search the forum and you'll find a lot more info on it, and others could describe this process, the why's and how's more eloquently than me. :)

FWIW I inherited my model A from my grandfather and when I picked it up I did notice a broken water neck on his garage workbench so thankfully I was aware of the potential for a problem and read about it before I took mine off. ;)
 
Paper gaskets get wet and squish out, then the ears break. I've only had success using the copper gasket, or no gasket and a thin coat of RTV.
 
I would prefer not to pull the studs, so I really can't get the surfaces glass flat. Will RTV only be OK as long as it is pretty clean? Otherwise is the copper gasket a safe bet?
 
If you dont want to break the goose neck, mill file the flat surface, then mill file the part that it connects to. Use the copper gasket and you will not have to worry about breakage.
 
RTV and no gasket, torque in multiple small steps. It is a non-pressurized cooling system until it boils. The last time I bragged to my parts man about no problems with a gasket I promptly went home and broke a gooseneck. Ahhh the taste of crow...
 
Mine broke unannounced 3 days after I bought the car, sounded like a .22 rifle shot! It had the danged thick gasket. Bought a FORD script aluminum one, 'cause the picture in the catalog looked like it was "polished" (it wasn't!) Painted it green & used a paper thin gasket & a light smear of RTV. Wonder if alujimum is less likely to break than cast iron??? Bill W.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Mine broke unannounced 3 days after I bought the car, sounded like a .22 rifle shot! It had the danged thick gasket. Bought a FORD script aluminum one, 'cause the picture in the catalog looked like it was "polished" (it wasn't!) Painted it green & used a paper thin gasket & a light smear of RTV. Wonder if alujimum is less likely to break than cast iron??? Bill W.
Click to expand...

It must be because I have yet to see a broken aluminum outlet.:D
 
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