Water leak.

The Master Cylinder

The Master Cylinder

Well-known member
A couple of weeks ago we replaced a head gasket on my friends Model A. He just noticed water seeping out of the #3 stud (by the tightening sequence in the Red Book) or the 2nd one back on the drivers side. Does anyone know if this is a blind hole? Can't imagine he "blew" a head gasket there? Maybe a crack in the block? He had the head magged and surfaced before installation.

Suggestions welcome on what to look for.
 
Blind holes can be broken into the water jacket, you could try head/gasket/block sealer before removing the head again to remove the stud and seal just the stud.
 
Did he retorque the head after the initial installation and driving it? I torque a new head gasket quite a few times until it settles in and stays at 55 lbs. The at least once per year after that I check the torque.
 
Yes, head was retorqued to 55 psi. Best gasket Graphtite gasket was used. I tried to pull the stud with no success. It has me baffled. I will update when we get the head off if we can determine the cause.
 
I also used the best gasket last time but also the copper spray cement. This is the first time that I have gotten the head gasket to seal after trying other types of gaskets/cements. I also filled in small imperfections in the block with JB Weld and used a flat steel sanding block with 400 grit paper to level off the JB Weld after it cured. There are other fillers available that other people have used the same way.
 
I have heard of wrapping string before torqueing. I had the same issue. PLEASE don't let anyone convince you to try sodium silicate (AKA Waterglass). It stopped the leak all right and everything else. What a mess. It plugged the pet **** on my lower radiator and I had to run a wire in there every fall. Didn't help the radiator tubes either.
 
Well we ran the engine thru a couple of more heat cycles and re-torqued the head while it was hot. Yes I know, should torque when cold. But the seeping out the stud has stopped, for now.

We will check it again in the morning.

Thanks for the heads up on the sodium silicate, Tacoma Bob. It crossed my mind to use some Liquid Aluminum by Barr's Leak but decided against it. I didn't think it would work on a non-pressurized system.
 
If it returns, when the engine is cold, remove the nut and put some Permatex around the stud where it comes thru the head, reinstall the nut and torque it and it should be OK.

I would try that before I would pull the head. It is not uncommon with these old engines to have some seepage around a stud.

My opinion,

Chris W.
 
Last edited:
nkaminar said:
I also used the best gasket last time but also the copper spray cement. This is the first time that I have gotten the head gasket to seal after trying other types of gaskets/cements. I also filled in small imperfections in the block with JB Weld and used a flat steel sanding block with 400 grit paper to level off the JB Weld after it cured. There are other fillers available that other people have used the same way.
Click to expand...

I do the same, and even on newer engine head gaskets, if it says not to use any sealer, I still spray the Copper Coat on both sides.
 
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