Follow up on poss blown head gasket.

[Maclab58]

One of the standard gaskets available from vendors. Not cork or copper.

[Mitch//pa]

Yea that happens with that type
I never cracked one with a copper gskt thats all i use
it looks better than using rtv

[Maclab58]

Mitch, I think I have one of those in my stash. I will try that tomorrow.

[1931 flamingo]

Could also try the matches trick.............
How did the valves and seats look?? What did you end up using for a gasket??
Paul in CT

[James Rogers]

File the bottom of the outlet flat and use some RTV and torque it down. It will not leak and you will not break it.

[Greg Jones]

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I do what James says and have never had an issue. I think the copper sandwich gasket is original, however.

[Richard Redmond]

Maclab58's original question was whether anyone thought his photos showed evidence of cylinder head cracks at the bolt holes.

My own view is that there are rough casting marks but no actual cracks shown in the photos. Is this a shared opinion?

[P.S.]

The question is- how did it run when you ran it to warm it up before the retorque?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

I subscribe to a different theory than the Dogs in that peace of mind comes from knowing all the facts where I do not need to worry later about things that were possibly overlooked. My time, --also like many others here, is a precious commodity and I do not have the extra time to 're-do' something just because I did not take a few extra moments to thoroughly analyze everything before I spent the time making incomplete repairs.

Again, please consider taking the time to thoroughly diagnose everything now so you won't find yourself driving on a tour and worrying later about the condition of other items that were overlooked in haste..

Yo, Brent, BUT, he had stated earlier that it wuz a low mile motor, by a reputable rebuilder & it run GOOD & he's NOT runnin' a commercial shop, jist tryin' to diafnose & FIX a pesky water leak!
(YOU DID GOOD, MCCLAB!) Buster T.

[larrys40]

Maclab,

As James and Greg said if you file ( I use a large belt surface) the bottom of the water neck flat with a good file and use a skim of RTV and remove the excess it will not break or leak. I have been using this method for quite a number of years with no leaks or failure of any kind. The gaskets, paper/copper, etc are all subject to compression and potential cracking.

Hopefully your compression gauge was the fault of the low compression checks before.
Hang in there... a water neck is an easy fix.
Larry

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Richard Redmond

MacLab68's original question was whether anyone thought his photos showed evidence of cylinder head cracks at the bolt holes.

My own view is that there are rough casting marks but no actual cracks shown in the photos. Is this a shared opinion?

I was thinking it could be casting marks, but the one picture kind of looks like rust stains near the line (crack?)

I'd check it very carefully with a magnifying glass.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I was thinking it could be casting marks, but the one picture kind of looks like rust stains near the line (crack?)

I'd check it very carefully with a magnifying glass.

I would just throw it out and get another one. I took 29 to the scrappers 3 months ago and have accumulated 5 since. Around here they reproduce at an alarming rate.

[Maclab58]

Well the saga continues, got a replacement neck last nite and followed James advice, filed it flat, Permatex and torqued it down. Fired it up and drove it around the block, ran ok no leaks and pulled it in the garage. Pulled the dipstick and crap........... Milky oil. Sooooooo when I broke the neck yesterday and backed off the nuts did antifreeze leak into the #1 cylinder and leak down into crank case? Idk. I drained the oil and let it drip for a while then replaced it. I know there will be some contaminated oil in the tray in the pan. I'm gonna get my hands on a leak down gauge. This car is makin me an old man!

[Mitch//pa]

that sucks
i always drain the cooling system before removing any head nuts. even for the armored cable clamp. i think you answered your own question if it was not milky before... be prepared to do a bunch of oil changes to get the crap out... pouring some oil in with the drain plug out will get some out of the tray. then i would refill run it then drain it again. then take it for a round a blocker a couple times then drain it again. keep doing it until your sure its all out....the oil comp's love this......

[Maclab58]

Ok, this just keeps gettin worse. Changes the oil and ran it around the back again. Hadn't put the rad cap back on and noticed the bubbling coming out of the radiator. Ok it doesn't take a rocket scientist at this point to figure out Houston we have a problem. Combo of turning into a bubble machine and water in the oil, I pulled the head again. Gasket failure between cyl 2 & 3. I'm using an iPad so I can only post one pic at a time. There was moisture in cyl 2 & 3.

[Maclab58]

The original head and the replacement head are different. When I put them side by side I noticed the replacement head didn't have a water jacket opening between cyl 2 & 3 like the original head did and that is the point of failure of the gasket. Any clue as to why they are different?

[Bob C]

The head with the elongated hole came out in Oct '29 to improve cooling.

Bob

[Maclab58]

Gotcha. Have sourced another head like my original.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

Man, I am sorry to hear you are having such a hard time. Someday it will make a good humorous conversation while standing around someone else's broken down A, but right now, its a bummer. My condolences.

The existence or not of the center water holes in the head would not make it leak into a cylinder. A warped head,deck or under torqued head nuts would cause a leak. Did you have the head surfaced prior to installing it? Model A heads warp easily due to not having enough studs for a head that size. (V8's had 21, not 14, and even they warp) Its always a good idea to have the head checked with a machinist's straight edge (not a carpenters) or even lightly skimmed as a check. You would not believe how many "good" heads need to be surfaced, even new out of the box. The center area is a common warp spot. Are the stud and nut threads clean and lightly oiled so you are getting a proper torque reading? Use a thread chaser, not a tap and die to chase the threads.

BTW, heres a tip I learned the hard way: Always use water in the cooling system until you are absolutely certain you are completely finished with the project. If that means draining it every night for freeze protection, then so be it. Anti freeze in the oil is a bad deal, to say nothing of the expense and mess.

good luck..

[larrys40]

Maclab,

I sense your frustration... but then... hey.. you have to remember this is a slant window cabriolet ... so whatever it is it is worth it!!! As Pat in Santa Cruz said, just know that any head that goes on needs to be surfaced. You can either locate a good original head or order one of the Snyder Hi-compression heads . If it were mine I would probably pull the pan to clean out the muck. You would also want to pull the timing cover as it will have some as well. I know it's a little work but it is worth it.

Fix that with a new surfaced head and you're ready to go. A good afternoons work.
Larry Shepard