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head problems

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bassmike

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Jan 23, 2008
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Location
windsor,ca
im having problems with my heads or head gaskets on my engine it keeps throwing my antifreeze out through the resovoir not sure y. so im wondering when i take it apart i might change the heads out for new ones. which ones are good i have a bored .30 350 with an edlebrock intake and 600cfm carb. it also has a small cam not sure which one.
 
Sounds like a blown head gasket. Remove BOTH heads and take them to your local machine shop and have them tested for cracks and then have them resurfaced. Buy a gasket set and reinstall the heads making sure that all the bolts and bolt holes are clean and that you have a few drops of oil on the bolt threads to give a nice smooth torque reading and then torque them back properly (65 ft/lbs).

If you don't have a good local shop near you then you could bring them to me and i can do that work for you. You're about 2 hours north of me if you're still in Windsor just above Santa Rosa.
 
im sure theirs a machine shop around here.. what would be a good quality head gasket??
 
Lots of real trick head gaskets to use, but I would stick to the standard Fel Pro and copper coat it before it goes down. No reason to spend more. It is not like you have tons of cylinder pressure, etc.
As for heads, lots out there. But if yours are not cracked or hurt, just mill them back flat and get the thing torqued and let it run.
 
WannabeRacing said:
Lots of real trick head gaskets to use, but I would stick to the standard Fel Pro and copper coat it before it goes down. No reason to spend more. It is not like you have tons of cylinder pressure, etc.
As for heads, lots out there. But if yours are not cracked or hurt, just mill them back flat and get the thing torqued and let it run.
Click to expand...

DO NOT use any sealer of any kind on a composite head gasket. Sealer can actually hamper the gasket from sealing correctly. Fel-Pro, Victor and i'm sure other gasket manufacturers as well tell you this.
 
No, not on the MLS style. They like to be dry. And very clean surfaces. (Some of the boat guys do put copper on them, but MLS deals have problems on sealing water in boats.)
For a stock deal, I would not run MLS stuff. Just a standard FelPro.
 
By composite i'm talking about a standard head gasket not a MLS gasket. MLS (Multi Layered Steel, for those that don't know what MLS stands for) gaskets are imperative that there is ABSOLUTELY no sealer used.
 
just wana know if you guys know why i am not blowing out smoke or why the water hasnt mixed with the oil.. the problem is the cooling system is geting to much pressre in it and throwing the antifreeze everything is new the pump, fan clutch, radiator, cap, thermostat does this sound like the cause of a head or gasket??
 
WannabeRacing said:
No, not on the MLS style. They like to be dry. And very clean surfaces. (Some of the boat guys do put copper on them, but MLS deals have problems on sealing water in boats.)
For a stock deal, I would not run MLS stuff. Just a standard FelPro.
Click to expand...

I've done probably 100 head jobs on boats over 20+ yrs and never seen, heard of, or put anything on head gaskets.. EVER.... certainly isn't a recommended procedure from Mercruiser, Crusader, Marine Power (just did a BB set of those yesterday), etc....
 
bassmike said:
just wana know if you guys know why i am not blowing out smoke or why the water hasnt mixed with the oil.. the problem is the cooling system is geting to much pressre in it and throwing the antifreeze everything is new the pump, fan clutch, radiator, cap, thermostat does this sound like the cause of a head or gasket??
Click to expand...

There are lots of ports and spots of a head gasket. All it needs to do is break one seal. The seal from a combustion chamber to a water passage could easily do this. If that void does not go to an oil gallery, it won't have water in the oil, etc. A typical void, and normal elevated amounts of pressure in the water system does not have enough pressure to really feed much water into the cylinder, but the cylinder will throw it's compression in the water as long as it is running.
I am sorry, I cannot tell over the computer if this is what it is. I would try taking the thermastat out and running it and seeing if this may fix it. Some of the reverse flow stuff can do something similar, (although not as harsh as you are saying) when the thermastat is slammed shut. Try that.
(Always do the easy stuff first.)

And on the boat stuff, that is good to know. Doing nuthing but drag racing and K boat engines, and living in that world really puts a kilter on what is happening in the real world. These guys trying to push 40 pounds of boost and as much as 100+ pounds of water pressure through the block get weird and freakish about their water sealing. A guy in a hydro and a rudder pickup just told me last month that his psi guage for water in the block hits something like 150 psi. through the traps. I think he needs to re-think his system. But he's "Gotta keep it cool."
 
This truck could have been repaired already. Stop asking questions and remove the heads and get them to a reputable shop and have them magnafluxed for cracks and then resurfaced (assuming there are no cracks) and put it back together.

If you're not sure that it's a head gasket just have your local smog shop put the sniffer near the radiator (cap off) to check for hydrocarbons in the cooling system (this is a sure sign of a blown gasket).
 
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