This one could be serious

[SickboySS]

ok, broke in my motor today.... smoked and burned the paint off of 1 header but not the other, ok, so we know the distributer is off 1 tooth

the whole time steam, not smoke, steam was coming out the breather on the valve cover and if i opened up the oil filler...

after the break in and looking around, it turns out a head bolt was leaking water, it wasn't sealed or theres a more major problem....we threw a leakdown tester on it and narrowed it down to the 1 head bolt (and found out my radiator has 2 or 3 holes in it) and also discovered my head is a factory defect...

but heres the thing, we re-sealed it with some thread sealer shit, and it didn't stop the leak... i have no idea wtf to do now...

other than this problem tho, and all the fighting today, it ran like a fuckin champ, when i tached it up it had sutin like 70-ish lbs of oil pressure, and sounded so mean, even with steam comin out the pipes....my neighbors across the street said it shook their house when i tached it up, hehehe

http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/12/web/264000-264999/264262_196_full.jpg

[ThaSac (MicZic)]

i don't get why that defect would cause a leak, its not like anythings being sealed on that surface.

Zach

[SickboySS]

its cuz that bolt threads into a water passage, and if that surface was flat it would have probably not showed up and caused the problem that it did...

[TunedPort 335]

Originally posted by SickboySS
its cuz that bolt threads into a water passage, and if that surface was flat it would have probably not showed up and caused the problem that it did...

The coolant shouldn't be going up to the shoulder of that bolt anyways, which leads me to beleive that the heads are fine. If that flat surface was the main reason to seal the coolant from leaking out into the valvecover area, then there would be no need for sealant...but thats not the case. What kind of sealant are you using anyways?

And dude, why the fuck didn't you seal the threads. Not to sound like an asshole but I figured you'd have known better.

Either way, sounds like a fairly easy fix.

[SickboySS]

it was sealed, but not that good.....so we re-sealed it with tons of shit and put a coolant system pump on it and pressurized the entire system and it came out again, even with tons of sealer on it

[TunedPort 335]

Originally posted by SickboySS
it was sealed, but not that good.....so we re-sealed it with tons of shit and put a coolant system pump on it and pressurized the entire system and it came out again, even with tons of sealer on it

Im thinking probably because the threads still had coolant on them, which didn't let it seal right.

But yea I think your heads are fine, the coolant shouldn't go past the threads anyways...so i don't think it matters what that surface looks like.

[SickboySS]

ugh, this shit just pisses me off, but atleast it didn't blow up or sutin from all the water it put into the motor (haven't taken the oil out yet, but i know it was a good 6-8oz anyways) alot of it got burned out as steam, but i know theres still a lil bit in there

[FATBLOCKMARO]

Originally posted by SickboySS
ugh, this shit just pisses me off, but atleast it didn't blow up or sutin from all the water it put into the motor (haven't taken the oil out yet, but i know it was a good 6-8oz anyways) alot of it got burned out as steam, but i know theres still a lil bit in there


drain the motor man antifreeze eats bearings!!!

[ThaSac (MicZic)]

I still don't see why that casting would cause an issue.

The threads are doing the sealing, so if you properly seal the threads and it still leaks, well then there must be an issue where the bolts thread in the head, not on the torquing surface.

Zach

[540Malibu]

THAT BOLT IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM the only bolts that go into coolant on SBC's are the lower ones on the outside of the valve cover, the ones under the valve cover should either be blind or go into oil.

[540Malibu]

sounds like you have a blown head gasket or a cracked block.

[TunedPort 335]

Originally posted by 540Malibu
THAT BOLT IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM the only bolts that go into coolant on SBC's are the lower ones on the outside of the valve cover, the ones under the valve cover should either be blind or go into oil.

You know way too damn much about SBC's :wtf2:

[Mr Joshua]

Originally posted by TunedPort 335
You know way too damn much about SBC's :wtf2:
well he's right... the only holes that go into the water jacket are the bottom rows..
i ran into a similar problem.. didn't put on thread sealer, and they leaked.. took the heads off, cleaned it all up... put thread sealer on and it's been dry ever since.. even with the metal gasket..
~J

[SickboySS]

Originally posted by Black99Cobra
well he's right... the only holes that go into the water jacket are the bottom rows..
i ran into a similar problem.. didn't put on thread sealer, and they leaked.. took the heads off, cleaned it all up... put thread sealer on and it's been dry ever since.. even with the metal gasket..
~J

what ones leaked on yours? bottom row or middle?

[TunedPort 335]

it turns out a head bolt was leaking water, it wasn't sealed or theres a more major problem

it was sealed, but not that good.....

:wtf1: :wtf2: Which one?


And I've been doing some thinking, I beleive Spence is right that those bolts go into dry areas. Now like he said, maybe a head gasket popped and the water is traveling over to that bolt and seeping through... who knows.

I hope the bearings are still good

[540Malibu]

there is a water jacket directly above that bolt, it may be as simple as the gasket didn't seal between that jacket and the bolt. what gaskets are on the motor now?

[SickboySS]

felpro 1003's....

i've had other people tell me that all the head bolts go into water, so i'm a lil lost right now.....

but i'm gonna go down there in a few and throw the tester on it and if it don't leak then i know i'm good for right now atleast

[SickboySS]

woo hoo.....the leak is fixed....we put obscene amounts of sealer on that bolt yesterday then let it harden for 24 hours, a lil while ago i pumped it up to 20lbs (my rad. is shit now) but it held, so problem solved....wooooo, thanx to all who helped me

[Mr Joshua]

Originally posted by SickboySS
what ones leaked on yours? bottom row or middle?
i just put thread sealer on the bottom row... ARP from summit..
cured it right up..
~J