The Ford Barn - View Single Post - white steam from breather and water tailpipe

Bruce_MO · 05-22-2020, 01:40 PM

Just had to replace both head gaskets on my '51 8BA. Had a smaller problem than what it sounds like you're seeing. My first sign was foaming coolant, and it would always push a bit of foam out after a pretty hard run. But it never ran hot, and never saw any signs at the tailpipe. Did the "bubble test"... disconnected fan belts so water pumps weren't turning and filled the radiator to the neck. Started and revved up a bit and saw a number of large bubbles, indicating combustion gases getting to coolant. I had read that the analyzer system that looks for hydrocarbons in the antifreeze is not reliable, so I skipped that test. Found about two areas per side that looked like the sources of leaks. Also saw 3 cracks from water passages to bolt holes... ignored them. Fortunately, no other cracks worthy of concern. New gaskets and all is great. Hope you're fix is without further headaches!

05-22-2020, 01:40 PM	#20
Bruce_MO Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 433	Re: white steam from breather and water tailpipe Just had to replace both head gaskets on my '51 8BA. Had a smaller problem than what it sounds like you're seeing. My first sign was foaming coolant, and it would always push a bit of foam out after a pretty hard run. But it never ran hot, and never saw any signs at the tailpipe. Did the "bubble test"... disconnected fan belts so water pumps weren't turning and filled the radiator to the neck. Started and revved up a bit and saw a number of large bubbles, indicating combustion gases getting to coolant. I had read that the analyzer system that looks for hydrocarbons in the antifreeze is not reliable, so I skipped that test. Found about two areas per side that looked like the sources of leaks. Also saw 3 cracks from water passages to bolt holes... ignored them. Fortunately, no other cracks worthy of concern. New gaskets and all is great. Hope you're fix is without further headaches!