weird flathead issue,need expert advice!

hombres ruin said:
hi bossy i have a after market aluminum rad,i see no leaks any where from the pumps or the rad.The cap is new 7lb stant brand.Habbott the cap seems to be sealing well to see water in the oil what would i look for since i have water water wetter and run brad penn oil which is green,when i look at the dip stick i see a golde green color once the engine stops and settles after i run it i see a greyish color but not a chocolate milkshake color like others have said it appaers as.i will do a head retorque as well
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Grey color? Maybe pull the heads, check for cracks, put new fiber gaskets with spray perm2 and torque.

To me, grey oil is water. Oil goes black otherwise.
 
I haven't tried barrs stop leak I am weary of solutions in a can.Flatjack I will do the retorque and see where I stand then. I thought those test kits were dead on accurate for gases in the coolant??
 
Tinker you might be right.. The oil I use is green but when I pull the dip stick after I run it it's grey color and when it cools down and settles its a combo of both greeny/ gold and grey.
 
hombres ruin said:
I haven't tried barrs stop leak I am weary of solutions in a can.Flatjack I will do the retorque and see where I stand then. I thought those test kits were dead on accurate for gases in the coolant??
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Nope. Again, it you are losing that much water, the dipstick would show a high level. You're overthinking this whole thing. Relax.
 
You might have water leaking in many spots. If it were me, i'd change out to the correct gasket (fiber for aluminum) now that your on task. Gaskets are fairly cheap.







.
 
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Here is a link to a Stant cooling system pressure tester you can check the integrety of the block/radiator also it will check the cap to make sure it is holding the proper pressure, I believe Richard refered to this in an earlier post. http://www.amazon.com/Stant-12270-Cooling-System-Pressure/dp/B0002SRGWU/?tag=atomicindus08-20 there are other manufactures that make them also but Stants work well. I would pressure up your cooling system to the Cap pressure and monitor it after a half hour if its dropped less than 1 pound, I would think it is just blowing it out the overflow. There are also infrared dye's available that will show small leaks under a black light, I would recommend dye before you tear the engine down. http://www.amazon.com/Spectronics-T...ne-Coolant/dp/B000NPIYM8?tag=atomicindus08-20 the dye is normally available From NAPA and they can probably tell you who would have a Black light in your area.

Regards,

Brian
 
Tinker said:
You might have water leaking in many spots. If it were me id change out to the correct gasket (fiber for aluminum) now that your on task. Gaskets are fairly cheap.
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There's been a ton of engines built with aluminum heads and copper gaskets. With proper additives, corrosion is not a problem.
 
Flatjack,
What a good additive to combat the copper/aluminum deal on the flathead ?
Thanks,
GT
 
Why did you buy an aluminum radiator?

Why did you use an oil that is green instead of a regular oil like Havoline ?

Why did you use water wetter instead of regular anti-freeze?
 
sounds a little familiar, had a similar problem in a 35 p/u, water was shifting too fast thru the radiator i rekon and lost half a gallon after a trip, rekon it was going out overflow tube.
temp gauge showed 190 degf, stock re-cored radiator was cooling great but water level rose higher with a few revs on and out went the H2o.

try slowing the water down somehow ? worth a try.
 
Rascal said:
sounds a little familiar, had a similar problem in a 35 p/u, water was shifting too fast thru the radiator i rekon and lost half a gallon after a trip, rekon it was going out overflow tube.
temp gauge showed 190 degf, stock re-cored radiator was cooling great but water level rose higher with a few revs on and out went the H2o.

try slowing the water down somehow ? worth a try.
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The water pump can not pump more water than it can suck. WATER EXPANDS WHEN IT GETS HOT. YOU WANT THE WATER TO FLOW THROUGH THE ENGINE AND RADIATOR AS FAST AS IT WILL GO.

THERE IS NO VACUUM IN THE RADIATOR.

If the pump is pushing water out of the radiator, you have blockage.
 
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Having heard about aftermarket radiators. I had one built for the '29A flathead powered roadster by a local radiator shop. Used original '29A header & bottom tanks, they added 1&3/4" outlets (early flathead), added a pressure cap filler neck, and recored the radiator with a high efficiency, 11 fins per inch core. All parts made in the USA. The core was from Maine Auto Radiator in Maine. The excellent workmanship was by Dan at Starfish Radiator in Orleans MA.
 
sturgis 39 said:
Why did you buy an aluminum radiator?

Why did you use an oil that is green instead of a regular oil like Havoline ?

Why did you use water wetter instead of regular anti-freeze?
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I used a aluminum rad because the stock one was junk and it has great flow . The oil is brad penn with zinc which is green. I use water wetter because it's better than anti freeze and I don't need anti freeze in southern California
 
Read post 32. What do you mean by great flow? Copper has an "R" value which is about half of aluminum. Copper transfers heat better than aluminum. If you are pumping coolant on the ground, then I question the great flow. I am not sure water wetter is better than anti freeze. Anti freeze should have all of the additives you need.

I assume the car in your avatar is the subject. It looks good. I like that model of Fords.
 
you mentioned you have 7,000 miles on rebuild, have you ever re-torqued the heads? it takes three or four re-torques, torque, run, cool down, re- torque run cool down ect.

if you don't want to change head gaskets
try re-torqueing you heads and add a bottle of bars leak aluminum type. don't be afraid of the bars leak it wont hurt at all. the aluminum type bar's has no pellets in it.

if you have water in your oil, change it as soon as possible.

I like the Best brand fibre head gaskets.
 
you could find a shop that has a 4 gas analyzer and have them do a test on your exhaust to see if you have the bad stuff coming out your tail pipe...
 
thanks guys,i will retorque,you see the advice i was given with retorquing is that it might break botls or unseat the sealant,so thats why i was unsure.It hasnt been retorqued since install.I use the water wetter because it does great for flatheads and has the properties that you need,like an anti corrosive and it lubricates the water pumps.i dont have coolant leaking on the floor at all.I will try the barrs stop leak as well.
 
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